Fox Fire
by NatsuHotaru
Summary: Not your ordinary high school fic. What happens when you mix humans, healers and demons together in one school? What exactly is so special about Naruto, a boy whose face goes unseen by everybody? Read! My first fanfic. Rated M for later chapters SasuNaru.
1. Prologue

**Pairings: **Sasuke/Naruto and small Kiba/Hinata

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any characters used in this story.

**Hotaru-** Alright guys this is my first story, basically I lost the internet for a week and got bored. Enjoy.

**Prologue**

"Long ago we demons found a way to the surface." Iruka started the lesson off with. His brown eyes surveyed the classroom full of eight year old attentive students. A large boy with brown hair and swirls on his cheeks raised his hand carefully.

"Yes Chouji?" Iruka asked. The boy glanced around the room and pulled a bag of chips out from under his desk.

"How did it happen Iruka?" he asked, opening the bag and quickly stuffing his hand in to grab a few chips. Iruka refrained from reprimanding the boy. Chouji was a wolverine demon and often needed to snack constantly to stop his body from loosing all its energy. Iruka nodded and smiled at the snacking boy.

"Excellent question Chouji. Legend has it that an American Indian chief was trying to summon a spirit for guidance but something went wrong and he summoned the wrong spirit, he had in fact summoned the wolf demon King. His name was Nuxalk and with no other body to go to was forced to posses the chief's body; because the makeup of human bodies was different to that of an ancient demon's, the body was forced to contort horribly. This was the very first 'werewolf'; Nuxalk decided that he would share this new world with his fellow demons. He used the chief's knowledge of summoning to bring forth all the Kings of the underworld. They each chose their own bodies and learnt of ways to keep the human body in its original form. They would then each choose a human mate and give their genes to the next generation. This continued for years and as you all should know eventually only several pure demons were left. They were the wolf demons; more commonly known as Lykens or werewolves, the fox demons and the blood sucking Vampires. There are of course other, lesser demons, resulting from crossbreeding. These demons are shaped after common animals like cats and dogs." Iruka explained, pacing the room. All eyes turned to a small black haired boy sitting at the back of the room and he looked up shyly. Iruka sighed and looked at Sasuke Uchiha who was the only wolf demon in the class, because of this he was exceedingly popular and had many girls already asking to be his mate. Iruka cleared his throat loudly and the class turned their attention back to him.

"As you all know, one day you will reach a specific age and will gain all of your demonic powers. Then and only then could you choose a mate and once a mate has been chosen you must treat he or she with extreme respect and love." He said, directing it at the girls eyeing the young Uchiha. They all sighed in defeat and turned their attention once again to the history lesson. Iruka smiled and continued. "One year a horrible war broke out among the demons and humans and millions were murdered. The healers from the Angel Plane were summoned to help with the devastation and many decided to stay on earth for future years. The humans lost horribly but instead of being completely wiped out the demons preposed a truce between the nations. The humans agreed and the land was left in peace for many years." His brown eyes surveyed the class again and were happy to find that the children were hanging from his every word "Alas tragedy struck once more and this time the angels and demons were at war against each other. A demon and an angel had fallen in love and conceived a child." The girls gasped and the boys grunted in disgust. Iruka nodded and continued "Although we and the angels are tolerant of each other, to fall in love and mate with a demon or angel is the greatest blasphemy. Of course the demons wanted the angel dead and the angels wanted the demon dead. In the commotion of the wars the parents both died and the child was lost to the world, easily forgotten. Over the next three years the humans, demons and angels were all at peace again and the population flourished. All races lived together in harmony and mixed schools and workplaces were set up all over the world. In fact when you guys enter high school you'll be mixed in with humans and healers." He finished and was rewarded by the clapping of the students. He smiled cheerfully "I'm glad you enjoyed it, there's going to be a test on the history of the demons, angels and humans on Monday." Moans and groans of displeasure rose around the class just as the bell rang, releasing the students to their two days of freedom.

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_Two years later _

All talking halted when Sasuke Uchiha entered the hallway and sorrowful eyes were turned his way. His friends glared at them and they quickly looked away and began chatting again. Gaara stepped up beside Sasuke and looked at him in slight confusion.

"Why are you back at school Sasuke?" he asked slowly. Sasuke scowled at him.

"My new guardian said that I had to be around my friends during this time. So here I am." He said angrily. Gaara nodded and looked pointedly at Lee who stepped forward quickly.

"Did you hear that Iruka's moving away? And that he's taking that human he adopted with him too?" he asked the group, trying to change the subject. Neji nodded.

"Yes I heard about that. I don't see why he's moving though, he has everything he needs right here." He said with a shrug. Lee nodded in agreement and turned to Sasuke.

"Aren't you excited about joining the mixed schools?!" he asked excitedly. Sasuke shrugged.

"There's no point in getting excited, we don't enter for another three years." He said sternly and Lee deflated quickly. Sasuke looked around at his friends and saw the looks of disappointment on their faces. "But in that three years I bet it will be exciting to share a school with humans and healers." He added and his friends brightened and smiled at him cheerfully.

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And that's the prologue, please review; I'd really like to know what you guy's thought. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Until next time,

Hotaru


	2. Chapter 1

**Alright here's the first chapter. Thanks for the reviews so far! **

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Chapter One

_The full moon shone its blinding light through the bedroom window; casting gloomy shadows across the walls and lighting up the blonde hair of a small boy. Eight year old Naruto sighed and gazed up at it sadly with wide blue eyes as he listened to the screams of his fighting parents._

"_How dare you sleep with her? I'm your wife!" He heard his mother, Maiko call out angrily. Naruto heard the slap of a hand to bare skin and cringed._

"_I have every right to sleep with her! She's ten times nicer than you are! I treat you better than you deserve, so shut your mouth!" His father, Ryota cried out. Naruto closed his eyes and clenched his fist as a tear trickled down his cheek. _

"_How dare you!" Maiko screamed in rage. "What have I ever done to you? If I went running off with some other man I'm sure you'd get jealous."_

"_Jealous? I'd be more than jealous! It's different went it's your wife!" He demanded._

"_How? How is it? That woman is married too you know!" Maiko cried out in anguish._

"_Yeah. To a dirty scum bag. She deserves better! _I_ deserve better!" He screamed. "I'm sick of you!"_

_Naruto stood up angrily and walked to his door. He paused for several moments as he took deep calming breaths. He looked up and opening the door, ran downstairs and into the kitchen._

"_Shut up!" He cried out loudly; his tears flowing more freely. "Stop fighting! Please!" His father ignored him as he shoved his wife into the hot stove making her cry out in pain when her hands met the red hot metal._

"_Please stop!" She screamed; pulling her hands away from the stove and holding them out painfully. "Please, for Naru's sake!" Ryota shoved her again._

"_What has he ever done for me? He doesn't even wear those glasses I wasted my good money on! He's a fucked up accident! What good is he?" He screamed, his voice gaining in altitude. _

_Naruto reached out and tried to pull his father away by the shirt; his small weak body struggling with the task. He tugged at the shirt, barely even making his presence known. He let go and clenched his fists before punching his father in the back. Ryota grabbed his hand and pushed him away._

"_Don't you dare threaten me you filthy child! Get out of this house now!" He yelled, raising his hand._

_Naruto stared in fear and stumbled blindly out of the room. He opened the back door and ran outside; racing as hard and fast as he could. Tears ran from his eyes, blurring his vision even further as he swept through the forest behind his house like a racing horse._

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Ten year old Naruto Uzumaki shot up in bed and wiped away the sweat that was forming on his brow. These dreams were occurring more often. Dreams from the past that he didn't remember and of when he didn't live at the horrifying orphanage, with the inedible food and the mouldy beds like the one he was laying in. He thought back on his dream and wondered once again if his parents were always fighting and how it was exactly that they died and he wound up in this hell hole. He sighed and rolled over, preparing to fall back to sleep. Before he was able to, the matron of the dorm he lived in swept through the door and roughly shoved him out of bed.

"Get up and get to work Fox." She ordered.

Naruto sighed inaudibly, picked himself up off the floor and picked his square, black rimmed glasses off of the side table. It had always been like this. They never called him by his name but instead opted to call him Fox because of the three parallel, whisker-like scars on each side of his face which gave him the impression of a fox. The matron always woke him at dawn and forced him to do his 'chores' which consisted of cleaning the entire floor his dorm was on. Naruto and the other six boys he lived with were supposed to rotate the chores but because of Naruto's constant pranks he was always punished by having to do their chores as well.

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_Kakashi ran a tired hand through his silver hair and readjusted his mask and eye-patch. His one grey eye glanced up at the Suna Orphanage. He had finally found him after ten years of tireless searching. Now for his plan, he couldn't rouse suspicion, so he needed to do this undercover._

"Hey did you hear the orphanage passed another inspection?" he heard a passer-by ask his companion.

"_What? Really? How do they get away with it? They treat those kids like slaves." The man asked. Kakashi didn't hear what the man's reply was as he had already begun leaping away on the roof tops. Inspection huh? He thought to himself, a plan forming in his mind._

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"Because all you snotty nosed brats are being 'freed' today Mrs Nakamura is expecting this place to be spotless. It's the least you can do for us after we fed and sheltered you." She continued.

Naruto felt a bubble of excitement erupt within his stomach. _That's right_ he thought _today we are all getting better homes_. Yesterday a silver haired child worker wearing a weird mask had come to examine the Suna Orphanage and because the inspection was a random one Mrs Nakamura and her cronies were unprepared. The inspector had seen the way the children were treated, their poor living conditions and the injuries on most of their bodies and had immediately lodged a complaint with the department. A large number of children were taken immediately and the rest were going today. _And I'm one of them_.

It took Naruto three hours to wash and scrub the dorms clean and just as he finished two police officers entered and took him to their car. An hour later the police pulled into a neat two story house in the middle of a field. The house was old, yet still held charm within its sturdy structure. Naruto gazed excitedly outside and opened the car door. He stretched his tired limbs and waited as the policemen brought his things around. Together they walked up to the front door and knocked on the hard timber.

Within a few moments the door opened to reveal a boy around the same age as Naruto with spiky brown hair that fell into black eyes. He smiled up at them with a huge grin and Naruto noticed the two red, upside down triangle marks on both of his cheeks.

"Hello! Come in. You must be Naruto. Dad told me all about you!" he said looking at Naruto happily. Naruto grinned broadly and nodded as he walked in behind the boy. The policemen followed and were shown into the lounge room where the boy bounded off again.

"I'm just getting Dad!" He called as he ran up the stairs two at a time; almost tripping on the fourth step. Naruto hid a laugh and sat awkwardly on the lounge. He listened as the young boy told his father about the guests.

"They're here Dad!" He shouted loudly, although the police men didn't seem to hear. "This is awesome Dad. We're gonna be best buddies forever! I can tell!" Continued the boy. The father laughed and followed the boy back out into the main part of the house. When Naruto looked in the direction of the staircase he saw a handsome middle aged man coming down the stairs. He had his shoulder length dark brown hair done up in a high pony tail that reminded Naruto of a pineapple. A long scar marked the tanned skin above his nose and Naruto scratched at his own whisker-like marks. Gentle brown eyes gazed into Naruto's nervous blues and held a kindness Naruto wasn't used to seeing.

"Hello." He called calmly as he walked over. "I'm Iruka Umino, and this is my son Kiba. He's so glad Naruto was able to stay here." He said laughing. The policemen laughed and greeted him with a warm handshake each.

"Good evening. We're glad little Kiba is so excited." One policeman said smiling. "We have all of Naruto's goods here," he said indicating the one tattered bag on the floor. "We hope he settles in well. If you need anything, just call us." He added. Iruka nodded and smiled.

"Well thank you very much. Would you like a cup of tea or coffee before you go?" Iruka asked politely. The policemen shook their heads begrudgingly.

"I'm afraid we have to get back as soon as possible. Thank you for the offer though but we better be off now." One said and Iruka smiled and nodded.

"Well again. Thank you very much. I'll walk you to your car." He said smiling. They nodded and walked toward the door. They stepped outside and walked to their car.

"So that's Naruto?" Iruka asked. They nodded. "Ah I see. So he does have the scars." He said to no one in particular.

"We hope everything turns out right. Kakashi says the boy went through a lot in the orphanage." One said before opening the door. "Take care Iruka." He added before climbing into the car and waved.

"Bye. Thank you!" Iruka cried as they drove off. He walked back into the house and grabbed Naruto's bag. "I'll show you your room shall I?" He asked happily.

Naruto nodded shyly and followed him into a room beside the back door. He opened the door and went into the small, cosy room. "I'm afraid this is the only spare room we have. It's a bit small, but it does the job." Iruka said happily. Naruto smiled politely.

"Thank you." He whispered, staring in amazement at the pristine sheets and the soft carpeted floor. So much better then what he was used to.

"Will you be alright to tidy things up yourself?" Iruka asked lightly. Naruto nodded and waited for him to leave. Once he had left he began unpacking his bag; placing his dirty and tattered clothes into the drawers of his beside table. He soon heard Iruka and Kiba talking.

"Dad can't I go and help him? I wanna be a good friend." Kiba said in a whining tone. Iruka shushed him.

"I think he needs some alone time. He just got out of a really bad place; I'm sure he just wants to be left alone. Maybe later you two can play." He suggested.

Naruto sighed happily and sat down on the soft mattress. Sinking into the bed he laid back against the pillow and soon, with tiredness sweeping over him; fell into a deep sleep.

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The next morning Naruto woke to the strong scent of miso soup and his mouth watered. Licking his lips hungrily he forced himself out of bed and walked to the mirror. The room seemed hard to focus on, so he found his glasses amongst his belongings and put them on. His gaze became more focused, so he walked out into the kitchen, where the delicious scents grew stronger.

"Good morning Naruto." Iruka greeted from the stove. Kiba was sitting at the table so Naruto walked over and sat beside him, who grinned widely.

"Hello! Did you sleep well?" He asked cheerfully. Naruto nodded shyly.

"Yes thank you." He replied; a blush creeping over his cheeks. Kiba seemed to notice Naruto's awkwardness, and so, sat silently awaiting breakfast. Soon Iruka came over carrying two large bowls of steaming noodles.

"Here you go Kiba. And here's yours Naruto." He said placing the bowls onto the table. Naruto smiled and nodded a thank you before wolfing the food down like a starving child. He had never tasted anything like this before. He looked at the noodles suspiciously before quickly scoffing the rest and drinking the soup. Naruto looked up hopefully to see if there was any more. He was disappointed when he couldn't see any leftover food in the pot and so he got up from the table, his bowl in hand.

"Mr Iruka? What would you like me to do with my bowl?" He asked quietly. Iruka turned around in his chair and motioned with his hands for him to wait till he swallowed.

"Just leave it in the sink Naru and please call me Iruka." He smiled before turning back around to eat. Naruto nodded, mostly to himself, and carried the dish over to the sink. Halfway there he tripped over his feet and gasped as he heard the sound of breaking china. Terrified he fell to the ground, wrapping his arms around his knees and hiding his face. Iruka raced over to assist him.

"Are you okay Naruto?" He asked gently. Naruto cringed away from the helping hand.

"I'm so sorry. So very very very sorry. Please don't hurt me. I'm not usually this clumsy." Naruto stuttered as tears started to spill from his eyes. He felt a reassuring hand on his back but cringed away from the comfort.

"Listen Naru, I don't know what you've been through but I have never hurt a child in my life. It was an accident. Don't worry about it." Iruka said soothingly. Naruto looked up at him, and noticed something he'd never seen in the eyes normally directed at him; kindness and worry. He smiled weakly up at the man.

"I'm still really sorry." He said quietly and accepted the outstretched hand. Iruka knelt down and gave him a hug before wiping away his tears and smiling encouragingly. He walked over to the broken bowl and began picking up the pieces. Iruka laughed.

"I never did like this set anyway, so I guess you did me a favour. It'll give me a good excuse to go buy some decent ones." He smiled kindly. Naruto giggled and a pink tinge crept onto his cheeks. He scratched the back of his head nervously, not used to this reaction. Kiba grabbed Naruto's shoulder and led him back to the table.

"Don't worry about it Naru. How bout I get Dad to cook you up another bowl of ramen?" He suggested with a grin. Naruto guessed that ramen was the name of the heavenly mysterious noodles; he hastily nodded and waited happily.

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When Naruto went back into his room he was only just sitting down on the bed when he heard the gentle patter of footsteps outside his door and turned to see Kiba's head popping around the corner of the door.

"Hi Naruto. Do you want to play ninjas with me? I never have anyone to play with usually, and I thought you might like to…" Kiba trailed off unsure and Naruto smiled.

"Sure! I would love to! How do you play?" He asked in excitement. Kiba smiled and walked in further.

"You don't know how to play ninja?" He asked incredulous. Naruto shook his head, and Kiba went wide eyed. "Well…" He began.

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Shortly Naruto and Kiba were playing ninja in the garden. They bounced around the garden kicking and leaping at hidden creatures. Finally they grew tired and sat giggling on the lawn.

"Thank you for playing with me today." Naruto said quietly. Kiba smiled.

"Why wouldn't I play with you? You're the best ninja I've met yet!" Naruto laughed. "We're gonna be the best of friends aren't we Naru?" Kiba questioned happily. Naruto smiled and nodded.

"Yes. Best friends forever." They both smiled and laughed.

Kiba and Naruto became closer friends as the years went by and Naruto truly felt as if he belonged to the small Umino family. Soon he had left behind his timid behaviour caused by the two years spent in the orphanage and was being loud, joking and most importantly playing pranks on a helpless Iruka. They had entered and graduated primary school with satisfactory results and were in their second last year of high school when Iruka got a phone call one afternoon.

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"_Hello." Iruka spoke into the receiver, laughter still in his voice. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Naruto was still staring wide eyed at Kiba who was laughing at the sight of a stunned Naruto covered in flour. _

"_Yo." A deep voice replied. Iruka went wide eyed and motioned to the fifteen year olds that he was taking the call outside._

"_Kakashi what is it?" He asked._

"_Iruka as you know it's almost Naruto's sixteenth birthday. I'm going to need you to move back to Konoha so I can ensure he goes through the changes safely." Came the reply. Iruka sighed and looked in the kitchen window where he saw Naruto brandishing a wooden spoon and chasing Kiba around the kitchen table._

"_So soon?" he whispered._

"_Yes Iruka. You know what could happen if this wasn't supervised. Naruto's condition makes it even more difficult then it usually is. I need you, Kiba and Naruto back here. The boys can finish their last one and half years in Konoha High." Although Kakashi's voice sounded like its usual bored self Iruka could hear the undertone of urgency in it._

"_Okay Kakashi, we'll be there in two weeks tops." Iruka replied. "See you then."_

"_Bye and take care." Was the reply before Iruka heard the click that signalled the conversation's end. He sighed and glanced back in the window, Naruto had Kiba pinned under him and the boy appeared to be begging for mercy. _My little Naruto_ Iruka thought _is about to reach Maturity_._

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Iruka got a new job in a distant town called Konoha. They moved in two weeks later and the boys were ready to start at their new high school.

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Alright and there we have it. Next chapter the boys will be older. : ) Please Review!~


	3. Chapter 2

Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews! It made me have a high and I really wanted to get this chapter out ASAP. So without further ado, here's chapter two of Fox Fire.

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**Chapter Two**

Butterflies welled in fifteen year old Naruto's stomach and he pushed up his glasses before he took his first step onto the Konoha High grounds. His spiky blonde hair fell in thick tresses and hid the black whisker-like marks he'd had since he could remember, his bangs fell over his sapphire blue eyes, hidden behind the thick black rims of his glasses (A/N: For people having trouble, Naruto's hair covers everything except his mouth but because it's blonde you can tell he wears glasses.). He wore a bright baggy orange t-shirt and equally baggy faded blue jeans. Kiba smiled beside him, making the red triangle marks on his face stretch out and tried in vein to make his shaggy brown hair presentable. His black jeans and t-shirt gave him the appearance of a bad boy while Naruto's made him look like a mismatched kid.

"You ready?" He asked grinning widely. Naruto nodded.

"Ready as I'll ever be! I just hope these people are ready for us." He replied with a devious grin, a plan for school domination already forming in his mind. Kiba crinkled his black eyes and laughed loudly.

"Yeah this is gonna be fun." He said the cogs in his mind also turning.

"So what locker number do you have?" Naruto asked, serious again.

"Uh…" Kiba pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket. "Number 556." He answered. Naruto grinned.

"I have number 555!" He shouted loudly. Kiba grinned.

"Awesome!" They both walked through the hall, slowly counting down through the lockers. Eventually they pulled up in front of an average pair of lockers. They used their newly given codes and opened the doors, freeing their backs from the heavy load of books. Eventually they had tidied their lockers and were leaning against the doors waiting for the bell to go.

The doors at the opposite end of the hall opened and a dark haired boy walked in carrying an oversized bag on his back. Naruto looked at him from the locker, his keen eyes sweeping over his features. The boy was taller then Naruto and had dark blue-black hair that fell onto his face in two bangs and spiked up at the back. His face was pale and held an unearthly beauty about it. His dark obsidian eyes met Naruto's and Naruto gave the boy his famous fox grin. The boy regarded him coolly and continued down the hall without a backwards glance. Naruto growled under his breath _What the hell is that jerk's problem_? Just then he heard Kiba's sharp intake of breath and glanced towards him to see a pretty pink haired girl with green eyes, a blonde haired girl with pale blue eyes and the girl that seemed to hold all of Kiba's attention, a blue-black haired girl with pupiless lavender eyes.

"Are you guys new?" The pink haired girl asked sweetly. They both nodded politely and she smiled. "Cool. Are any of you in science? That's my first class." Kiba shook his head and Naruto stepped forward. She regarded him with a weird glance, obviously noticing the frames through his thick hair, a look to which Naruto had grown used to. She obviously thought he was a nerd.

"I'm in science." He smiled; his voice loud in the hallway. She stared incredulously; amazed that a voice could come from someone so small (A/N: Naru's a shorty).

"W…Well then. We can go to class together." She said happily. "The bell will go soon, so we better go before the halls get too crowded." Naruto nodded and turned to his locker to pull out his books. He grinned to Kiba.

"I'll see you at lunch. Have fun in art." Kiba nodded and joined the short haired girl in walking down the hall. Sure enough the bell rang, just as they were leaving the hallway. Students flocked towards them, and they quickly escaped to the quieter science labs. They waited in front of the doors; introducing themselves and getting to know each other.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki." He said cheerfully. The girl smiled.

"I'm Sakura Haruno. Nice to meet you Naruto." She said beaming. Naruto blushed.

"What other subjects do you have?" He asked curiously. She paused, thinking for a moment before replying.

"Well, obviously there's science. Then high maths, um… English, History, Geography and Business. How about you?" She said slyly and Naruto grinned.

"I have science, high mathematics, English, biology, music and PE." He said brightly. Sakura smiled.

"Well at least we have a few classes together. That should help with the whole you being new thing." Naruto grinned and nodded. The teacher, a tall blonde woman with blue eyes arrived and unlocked the door, letting them inside. Sakura directed them to a bench in the back corner and they sat down.

Shortly a few more people arrived including the dark haired boy from earlier in the hall. They all took seats towards the back of the classroom and Naruto guessed that it was to stay away from the teacher.

"Alright class, we have a new student all the way from Suna, can you come up here and introduce yourself, yeah?" the teacher asked Naruto in a surprisingly deep voice.

All heads turned towards Naruto and a few boys laughed at his appearance. Naruto frowned and continued down to the front of the class. Suddenly the ground beneath his feet disappeared and his face was on a crash course towards the ground. The class watched on in amazement as Naruto stuck out his palm and swiftly pivoted his body in a graceful arc to land back on his feet. He dusted the invisible dirt from his baggy top and continued on his merry way. When he reached the front he turned towards the class and watched in amusement at their stunned faces. He cleared his throat.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I came here from Suna." He lowered his voice and said threateningly "Just because I'm human and I wear glasses doesn't mean I can't protect myself. You mess with me and I can't be held responsible for my actions." He glared around the room at the shocked expressions and adopted his usual foxy grin "Other then that it's a pleasure to meet you all and all that jazz." He heard a chuckle from his side and turned to see the teacher watching him with a large smile on her face.

"Nice to meet you too Naruto, I'm your teacher Deidara." _He_ said with a smile. Naruto cocked his head to the side cutely and stared in amazement.

"You're a guy?" he asked and was met with laughter of the class. Deidara just waved his hand and smiled at him.

"Yeah it's a common mistake. Now go take your seat, yeah." he said and gestured in Sakura's general direction. Naruto smiled and bounded back to his seat with a childish grin on his face. As he passed the raven haired boy he could of sworn he saw a smirk on his pale face.

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Naruto walked awkwardly beside Sakura who was smiling dreamily at the dark haired boy. He glanced nervously back to the classroom to see the smoke from Deidara's last 'experiment' floating peacefully out the door. He shuddered and realized just why everyone chose to sit at the back of the classroom.

"So uh… Did you want to sit with me and my friend at lunchtime?" He asked quietly. Her eyes still focussed on the raven.

"Sorry, but I already sit at a table with all of my friends." She said grimacing. Naruto shrugged and continued walking down the hallway. "Buuut, I guess you and your friend can come and sit at my table." Naruto grinned widely at her.

"Thanks! Uh so why are we staring at the duck-butt guy?" He asked curiously. She blanched.

"DUCK-BUTT GUY?!? Are you talking about Sasuke?" She said pointing to the raven haired boy in front. Naruto looked at her and nodded _So Sasuke's his name?_ "That's Sasuke Uchiha _the_ hottest guy _ever_. He went to my old primary school and I know that we're destined to be together." Naruto looked at her and saw the glazed over look in her eyes _Ahh fangirl_ he thought nodding sagely.

"I'll see ya later Sakura. It was really nice meeting you." He said but she didn't even seem to have heard him as she was still staring starry eyed at Sasuke.

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Naruto checked his time table and saw that he had PE now. He waited out in front of the room as people began to pile around. Shortly a slim boy with shoulder length black hair and black eyes with a grumpy look made his way through; pushing people out of his way. Naruto stepped back, allowing him to pass but the boy stood squarely in front of him.

"Looks like we have ourselves a nerd in the PE class. It seems to me that you must be lost. Aren't your glasses gonna get in the way, four eyes?" He said meanly. Naruto narrowed his eyes and anger stirred within him.

"I don't need my glasses for sport. Nor am I lost, so you can just get out of my way." He replied curtly, fist clenching as he prepared to punch the boy if he wasn't left alone. The boy rolled his eyes.

"We'll see about that. I doubt you've got much in you. Nerds never do. They're always weaklings." He said.

_Naruto reached out and tried to pull his father away by the shirt; his small weak body struggling with the task. He tugged at the shirt, barely even making his presence known. He let go and clenched his fists before punching his father in the back. Ryota grabbed his hand and pushed him away._

Naruto's eyes teared up and he lowered his head. The boy smirked at him and opened his mouth to say more but his friend quickly pulled him away. "Sai, teacher's coming." Naruto heard the boy whisper. Suddenly a man with a black bowl cut and wide black eyes flew in from nowhere. He did a strange pose and the green spandex he was wearing caused Naruto to turn away before his eyes gouged themselves out.

"Good morning my beautiful students! What a lovely spring day we are graced with." He shouted and Naruto frowned at him. _Isn't it almost autumn?_ He thought. Sai glared up at the teacher and whispered something to his friend who laughed. "Ah what is this? A new student has been granted to us this most glorious day! Tell me youthful one, what is your name?" He all but shouted in Naruto's face.

Fearing for his safety Naruto took three quick steps back and said "My name's Naruto Uzumaki sir." Spandex-man looked at him and grinned widely.

"I am Gai Might!! But you must call me Gai in a show of true youthfulness." He yelled pulling another strange pose. Naruto smiled nervously and stepped backwards a few more steps but stopped when he ran into something hard. He glanced up nervously and was shocked to see the passive face of the Sasuke guy. Naruto grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry about that." He noticed he was still pressed up to Sasuke's body and stepped away quickly. The guy stiffened and his fingers twitched. He smirked at Naruto and turned back to the teacher. Naruto sighed in relief and turned back to Gai who was crying and holding onto a person that could pass as his miniature clone. Naruto quirked an eyebrow as Gai turned back to the class.

"Today, my youthful students. I, your most hip teacher am going to give you all a full physical examination to see where you're all at. Today we'll be running, so I'm going to find out who's the fastest in the class. Let the most youthful of you win!!" Sai snickered and glanced at Naruto.

"We all know Blondie over there is gonna loose. He doesn't stand a chance amongst us demons. Why doesn't he just sit out?" he asked, faking innocence. Gai glared at him and Naruto clenched his fists tightly and tried to control his breathing. From the corner of his eye he thought he saw Sasuke stiffen slightly.

"Sai that is a show of bad sportsmanship, Naruto can choose whether or not to race against his kind or our kind, after class I expect you to walk around the oval with me on your hands to make up for it." He reprimanded and Sai groaned. "Come my students, to the oval!!" he and the miniature clone dashed off in the direction of the track field.

---------------------

At the track the class sat underneath the shade of a tree while Gai explained what was going to happen.

"Okay students!! I will randomly call two people up, if they happen to be of different species they can choose to race someone else. They will race for 400meters and I will time them both and record them. After that we will see who has the best time in the class and who deservers the title of the most youthful." The class murmured to each other and Gai called two people forward. "Neji Hyuuga and Sasuke Uchiha." A beautiful boy with long silky brown hair and pale eyes stood up and followed Sasuke to the starting line. Naruto groaned _Is everybody at this school unnaturally beautiful or is that just me?_ He questioned silently. Gai held two stop watches high, and yelled loudly. "Okay. Ready, set, GO YOUTHS!" Sasuke shot forward and Neji stayed at an even pace along the track. About halfway back they were both running at an extraordinary speed before Sasuke pulled in front and crossed the line first. Naruto watched as Gai jumped around them trying to hug Neji for his 'extreme loss' his eyes followed Sasuke over to a tree where he stood with a small group. Suddenly Sasuke looked up and stared right into Naruto eyes. He gasped and quickly looked away trying desperately to ignore the bubbling feeling in his stomach and tuned back into the lesson. Several more names were called up at random, and finally Naruto's name was called.

"Naruto Uzumaki and…" Gai looked around and came across his star pupil "…and LEEE." The miniature clone laughed out loud and stood up, gently stretching his legs.

"Naruto I am most happy to be racing against you, although I do not know if you shall beat me, I am the fastest in the class and a demon." Lee proclaimed proudly. Naruto simply lifted his chin, stood up and moved to the starting line.

"READY STUDENTS?" Gai yelled. Naruto shook his head and slipped off his glasses.

"Can you please hold them for me?" He asked politely. Gai nodded his head.

"Certainly!" He put them in his shirt pocket and placed the stop watches between both hands. "Ready. Set. GO!" He cried. Naruto leapt forward, the muscles in his legs rippling into movement. He easily overtook Lee, who gaped at him wide mouthed. He heard some of the people cry out and cheer him on, which only pushed Lee further. He raced on, putting less space between them, but Naruto merely quickened his pace; easily staying well ahead of Lee's fast run. Naruto reached the 200meter point and skidded to a halt before turning around and running the way he had come. He waved cheerfully to Lee as he ran past him and received a disbelieving look. He raced over the line and slowed his pace to a walk before stopping. Everyone on the side line stared at him incredulously. He felt a blush creeping up his cheeks, and quickly made sure that his hair was in front of his face. When he found that it still was he looked curiously at the people _If they can't see my face then why are they making those faces?_ He asked himself. With a shrug Naruto bounced over to Lee as he finished the race and shook his hand.

"Thanks for the race Lee. I'm sorry if I stole your limelight but I'm just really good at running." Naruto said apologetically _Yeah I guess running from people for most of your life gives you an advantage over demons_ he thought bitterly. Lee looked at him shocked.

"Naruto my dear friend! There is nothing to be sorry for, that was a most excellent race and you have given me a challenge I have not had in a long time. As I have lost this race I will now do 200 laps around the school." He declared with a huge grin and what appeared to be a thumbs up. Naruto quirked an eyebrow and was left in the dust as Lee raced away to begin his laps. He glanced up to see a blur that resembled Gai rushing over to him.

"Well done! That was brilliant! Best time so far." He looked up at the crowd. "Now you really know what competition is." They all laughed and Naruto grabbed his glasses, slipped them on and hid his face behind his hair again. The class soon ended, and no matter how hard the other's tried they could not beat Naruto's record. As they were walking back to the main grounds Naruto heard many grumblings about how Naruto cheated and that there was no way his puny humanness would win a race against Lee. Naruto sighed _Looks like I won't have many friends in this school either_ he thought. Suddenly Naruto felt a growing sense that he was being watched. He turned around and saw that it was Sasuke who was staring at him solidly; Naruto gulped and looked away quickly, the bubbly feeling back in his stomach.

---------------------

Naruto looked around the cafeteria in the hopes of finding either Kiba or Sakura. He finally spotted a blob of pink in the sea of brown, black and blonde and started over. Suddenly a fist came flying towards his face and he quickly side-stepped around it and turned to see who it was. Sai glared at him before glancing over his left shoulder. He suddenly looked scared and abruptly turned away and walked back to his table. Naruto glanced over his shoulder to see Sasuke smirking at him. He cocked his head to the side and swore he saw Sasuke's eyes gleam with a predatory look. His gaze shifted beside Sasuke and saw that Sakura and the blonde girl from this morning were also looking at him. Sakura noticed his glance and motioned him over. He smiled cheerfully and almost skipped over to them. He looked around and saw that Neji, Lee and Kiba who was sitting opposite the blonde girl were also at the table as well as a boy with dark glasses and hair and a big boned boy with brown hair and swirls on either cheek. Naruto decided to take the seat next to Kiba who turned around and grinned at Naruto before pulling the dark haired girl from this morning beside him.

"This Naruto; is Hinata Hyuuga and I think I'm in love." Hinata blushed so deeply her entire face turned bright red. Naruto chuckled.

"Hello Hinata I'm Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you." He grinned charmingly at her which caused her to blush deeper, "Hey are you related to that Neji guy? You kinda look like him." He asked tilting his head to the side. She smiled shyly and nodded.

"Yes h-h-he's my cousin." She said shyly. Naruto nodded and turned to the dark boy. He glanced up from what appeared to be a jar of bugs and stared at the blonde.

"Good morning Naruto Uzumaki, I am Shino Aburame and these are my bugs." He said darkly, indicating to the jar in front of him. Naruto gulped and looked at the bugs in fear. His grip on the table tightened, causing his knuckles to turn white. Sakura looked at him in confusion.

"Naruto are you okay?" she asked and was stunned when she was met by silence. Naruto's grip tightened and he pulled in a shaky breath.

"_Hold him down Dammit!" Kenta the bully of the orphanage yelled. Naruto struggled even more as four boys clung to his arms and legs weighing him down. Kenta grinned and pulled out a jar of cockroaches and other assorted creepy crawlies. Naruto gasped and tried to break free but the larger boys held him down. Kenta's smile grew and he tipped the jar onto Naruto's face. Naruto screamed as they landed on him and scuttled around on his face. The sharp points on their legs felt like they were digging into his skin and Naruto was struck with the fear that they were burrowing into him. He screamed desperately and flung the boys off of him and scrambled to his feet. The boys rolled around on the floor laughing as Naruto desperately tried to free himself of the bugs. Just then Naruto felt the sharp pricks inside his mouth and the world went black. _

Kiba noticed Naruto's condition and looked at Shino. He saw the jar of bugs and quickly grabbed them to place them in Shino's lap. He leant in to whisper in Shino's ear. Shino nodded and made sure the jar was hidden. Kiba gently shook Naruto's shoulder.

"It's okay Naru, they're gone." He whispered knowing of Naruto's deep fear of insects. Naruto's grip loosened and he sighed.

"Ah it's really nice to meet you Shino and your b-bugs. I'm sorry I freaked out, I'm terrified of insects." Naruto said and bent his head low. The boy with the swirls leaned forward.

"That's okay Naruto I'm scared of bugs too unless they're the edible kind of course." He said grinning. Naruto giggled slightly and nodded his head in thanks. "I'm Chouji Akimichi by the way, are you going to eat those chips?" Chouji asked with a grin. Naruto laughed again and pushed them forwards.

"Nice to meet you Chouji, you can have them." He said cheerfully and Chouji tore open the packet and ate the chips fervently. Naruto chuckled again and glanced towards the blonde beside Sakura.

"What's your name?" he asked curiously. The girl in question sneered at him and looked away. Sakura glared at her and slammed her fist onto the table.

"Dammit Ino I told you! He's not a freaky nerd, he just happens to wear glasses." She screamed, drawing the attention of the entire cafeteria. They crept closer to the commotion and looked on. Ino glared back at Sakura and crossed her arms huffily.

"Shut up forehead. Why does he wear ugly baggy clothes? Why is he being picked on? Why are people saying mean things behind his back? Why is he in all the smart classes? Why does he hide his face? Why Sakura? If he's not some ugly nerd then what about all those things?" She questioned meanly, completely discarding the fact that Naruto had heard every word and was sitting right in front of her. Naruto's stomach twisted uncomfortably and he looked down quickly when he felt the familiar burn in the back of his eyes. Kiba, who was glaring at Ino noticed the small movement and reached over to grab Naruto's shoulder.

"Naru? Hey don't take any notice of what she's saying, she doesn't know what she's talking about." But Naruto just shrugged his hand off and continued to look at the ground, desperately trying to hold back the tears. He tilted his head slightly and saw that Lee, Neji and Sasuke were all glaring at Ino and he saw Sasuke glance at him with concern in his black eyes. Naruto grimaced before standing up and speaking in a clear calm voice for all to hear.

"Ino." She glanced in shock at him and was about to open her mouth to retort when he continued still staring at the ground "I wear these clothes because they are comfortable, I'm sorry that they're not nice I guess I wasn't born with 'the passion for fashion' like you were. I'm being picked on because I wear glasses; it's not because I'm a super smart person but because I was diagnosed with a regressive cornea when I was eight years old. People are saying mean things behind my back because they are bored with their lives and feel the need to bag on fresh meat without actually having the guts to face me. I'm in the 'smart classes' because they interest me and…and I…hide my face because of the reactions people have when they look at me. I'm ashamed of my looks." Without a second thought Naruto turned and walked from the cafeteria, tears finally breaking his resistance and falling freely down his face. Kiba glared at Ino who had the decency to look ashamed and ran after Naruto.

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Alrighty. If you guys want anything specific to happen just tell me and I'll try to fit it in. I welcome any and all ideas. Also this is unbetaed so if you find any mistakes in the story line can you tell me? Thanks for reading and please review! I'm guessing if all goes well I'll put the next chapter up tomorrow!

Hotaru


	4. Chapter 3

**Alright so because i wanted to say thanks to all the awesoem reviewers, especially Mickey I wrote this really quickly. So it's short.**

**Welcome to chapter 3 of Fox Fire mostly in Sasuke's POV :) **

**Chapter Three**

Sasuke growled angrily as he slammed the door closed and stalked into the kitchen. Kakashi looked up in surprise and sighed.

"Bad day?" he questioned. Sasuke huffed at him and glanced away quickly. Kakashi smiled cheerfully "Come now Sasuke you have to tell me about these things or I don't know…maybe you'll find yourself having to visit Itachi more." He finished with a shrug. Sasuke growled angrily and shuddered at the thought of having to visit his brother in the insane asylum more then he would like to. When Sasuke was about ten years old, Itachi had gone crazy with power and wiped out the whole of the Uchiha clan, including his parents with his demonic powers. Kakashi had been assigned to him as a carer from the Underworld Government as Sasuke was the only remaining Uchiha on their side. Sasuke glared up at the strange man again and resigned himself to telling Kakashi about today.

"It's this new kid in my class." He said glumly. Kakashi frowned.

"You didn't get into a fight did you? Sasuke you know you're at your full potential now. You could really hurt someone if you're not careful." Sasuke scowled up at him.

"No it's not that. It's just, well I don't know what's going on but I can't stop looking at him. He smells different to all the other kid's at the school, kind of like oranges and summer. Today he ran into me and I felt like holding him there, it was actually really hard to restrain myself and that worries me because I usually have excellent control. Then Sai was picking on him and I felt this urge to run out and rip his eyes out, then disembowel him and laugh as he slowly bled out on the floor." Sasuke said, an evil smirk spreading across his face. "The things he said and did to him made me so angry." Kakashi looked up in surprise to see the Sharingan swirling angrily in Sasuke's eyes. "And then Ino, that _cow_ had the nerve to say all of these mean things right in front of him. I could smell how much it hurt him and I just wanted to rip her into thousands of tiny shreds." Kakashi narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Sasuke and decided to test out his theory.

"Sasuke tell me more about the boy, like what he looks like." He asked carefully watching Sasuke's furious eyes and ferocious stance. Almost immediately Sasuke relaxed as he thought about the new kid. Kakashi smirked under his mask in triumph.

"Well I don't really know what he looks like. His blonde hair covers the majority of his face, but I do know that he wears glasses." The Sharingan slowly faded away "He's shorter then me and makes the cutest movements with his head." Sasuke paused there in shock; did he really just say that? He glanced up at Kakashi in shock and saw the tell tale signs of his smug expression. "Kakashi what's wrong with me? I have never thought this way about another person." Kakashi smiled down at him cheerfully and decided to put the boy out of his misery.

"You, Sasuke Uchiha have chosen your mate." Kakashi watched on in amusement when the blood drained from Sasuke's already pale face. Kakashi didn't mind the fact that Sasuke had chosen a male. It was actually quite common in the demon world, often males chose other males for their strength so they were able to protect the offspring. That didn't stop them from being protective though.

"I've done what?" he whispered. Kakashi stood from the table and guided Sasuke to a seat.

"It's simple. The way you're reacting portrays your feelings. The fact that you have never felt this way about another being should clearly indicate something. Sasuke you looked ready to attack when you were thinking about that Sai boy, your Sharingan was in full power." Here Sasuke looked up in disbelief "That shows that you are already protective of your mate. Plus." Kakashi's eye crinkled in amusement "You said he was cute." He quickly ducked the fist that came flying towards his face. "Now Sasuke, that's no way to treat the man who raised you from birth." He reprimanded. Sasuke looked nonplussed.

"I was ten." Kakashi just waved his hand.

"Details. Now what's the boy's name? I believe I'm going to have to meet the chosen mate of my only son." He winked at Sasuke and Sasuke growled.

"His name's Naruto Uzumaki." Kakashi let out a surprised sound. Sasuke looked at him confused.

"Chosen like a true Uchiha but Iruka's going to kill me." Kakashi groaned then grabbed the phone.

"What are you doing? How do you know Naruto and what does Iruka have to do with it?" Kakashi groaned again.

"Iruka is Naruto's adoptive father." Sasuke gulped and hoped to god Iruka was in a good mood. It wasn't everyday a man found out his human child was being mated to a demon.

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Kiba glanced up from his homework when he heard the phone ringing.

"Can you get that Kiba? I need to wash my hands." Iruka yelled from somewhere in the direction of the kitchen. Kiba sighed and walked towards the cordless phone. He picked it up from the cradle and answered in a bored tone.

"Hello. Umino residence, what's up?" he heard a deep chuckle from the other end.

"Yo. I'm not sure that's the way Iruka taught you to answer the phone." The man's voice chided. Kiba laughed.

"True but I like to spice it up sometimes. I'm guessing you wanna talk to Dad?" he asked already walking towards the kitchen.

"Yes I do. Tell him it's Kakashi." The man replied. Kiba turned a corner and saw Iruka. He walked up to him and presented the phone.

"Kakashi." He muttered. Iruka grabbed the phone and headed back into the garden.

"Hello Kakashi. Is there something wrong?" he heard a nervous chuckle.

"What Iruka? Why does something wrong have to happen before I call you? This could just be a friendly chat." He replied unconvincingly. Iruka narrowed his eyes.

"Just spit it out Hatake." He heard Kakashi groan on the other side of the line.

"Okay, okay. Now Iruka you know Sasuke right?" Iruka made an impatient noise and Kakashi chuckled nervously "Well of course you do, uh what if per say Sasuke was to…hypothetically choose Naruto as his mate?" He rushed. Iruka's eyes widened impossibly.

"HE WHAT?!" he yelled into the phone.

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Kakashi held the phone away from his ear and grimaced at the loud voice.

"HE WHAT?!" Sasuke heard Iruka yell and he whined slightly holding his ears. Kakashi chuckled nervously.

"Today Sasuke showed all the common signs of choosing his mate towards Naruto." He answered quietly, fearing the wrath of mother-hen Iruka. Sasuke watched on as Kakashi glanced down at Sasuke's crotch and said "No Iruka you can't do that. He needs his pe-" Kakashi held the phone away from his ear quickly and winced. He waited until the noise of Iruka's yelling died down before gingerly putting the phone to his ear again.

"It's no use is it? I can't stop it." He heard Iruka ask, defeated.

"Iruka stop acting like it's the end of the world. This is good for the both of them." He said reassuringly. He heard Iruka sigh.

"I know. It's just Naruto hasn't even gone through Maturity yet and he's already been mated." He heard Iruka sigh again "I, Iruka Umino guide of Naruto Uzumaki hereby give my acceptance of the mating between my son and yours." Kakashi grinned widely, his eye in an upside-down u shape. "Now hand the boy the phone so I can give him my blessing." Kakashi quickly handed the phone to Sasuke who eyed it wearily before putting it carefully next to his ear.

"Hello?" he asked uncertainty.

"Sasuke you picked well with Naruto. Although I think it might take some convincing before he comes to you willingly. He's a very stubborn boy; you might want to start with being his friend before you begin the courting process." Sasuke gave a brief nod then remembered that Iruka couldn't see him.

"Thank you for your blessing and advice Iruka, I promise to treat him well and protect him with my life." Sasuke surprised himself by saying. _Where did that come from?_ He questioned himself.

Iruka sighed in relief "Thank you Sasuke. Would you mind giving the phone back to Kakashi now?" he asked politely. Sasuke said his goodbye and handed the phone back to Kakashi who eyed it with growing terror. Sasuke sighed and started walking upstairs towards his bedroom. Perhaps he could drown himself in school work so he would stop thinking about Naruto?

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"Kakashi I'm worried about Sasuke's capabilities in courting Naruto. Perhaps Naruto and I can come to your house for dinner in the pretence of me and you being old friends who want to catch up?" Iruka asked trying to think of a way the boys could meet.

"Excellent idea Iruka! Drop Kiba at a friends house or something and bring Naruto over." Kakashi said excitedly, _Oh the teasing opportunities_ he thought happily. Iruka laughed.

"Wait for a few weeks so they settle in and Kiba actually makes friends first." Iruka replied.

"Sure, farewell my dear Iruka, I think Sasuke's trying to drown himself." Kakashi laughed and after Iruka had hung up began walking up the stairs. _Oh Sasuke what have you gotten yourself into?_

* * *

It might of seemed a bit rushed but i wanted Sasuke to like Naruto straight away! It makes for a more interesting story~ Anyway Kiba (my cat) seems to be hungry so i'll go feed her and you guys please review! Remember to tell me any ideas you have as this next bit will be the part where i struggle, any and all questions are welcomed; i love you all,

Hotaru~

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	5. Chapter 4

**So i took some ideas and wrote this! uhm yeah don't really have much else to say. Here's the next chapter.**

**~Chapter Four~**

Ino was positively furious, _How dare that geek talk to me like that! And in front of the entire school as well! _She thought angrily. She was currently on her way to school and was fuming about the way Naruto had talked back to her. Ino finally took in her surroundings and noticed that she was near the Subaku residence. A small victorious smile swept over her features and she hurried up to the front door. Ino rang the doorbell and waited impatiently for the familiar sounds of someone rushing to answer the door. Just as she was about to ring again the door was quickly opened and a young man wearing all black and a cute kitten eared beanie stuck his head out. His coal coloured eyes widened when he saw who was at the door.

"Ino? Uh I didn't know we were walking to school together." He said awkwardly and Ino pushed her way through the door.

"Morning Kankuro, I need you to hack into a file." Ino said in a no-nonsense tone. Kankuro sighed.

"Shoulda known." He said and led Ino into his bedroom; it was surprisingly clean and was very plain. He motioned for her to take a seat on his bed and sat next to her with his laptop. He booted it up and waited patiently for it to load.

"So who's the kid who pissed you off this time?" he asked joyfully. She huffed.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Ino said angrily and crossed her arms. Kankuro tapped his nose and grinned at her.

"Ah this is about Blondie at lunch isn't it?" He asked, grinning. Ino huffed again and pointed to the screen which was fully loaded. "Geez Ino, calm down a bit. This kid must have really gotten to ya then aye?" She grunted unbecomingly and Kankuro set to work hacking into the school file. Ten minutes passed before Kankuro whooped loudly "I'm in." he stated and turned the screen to Ino. She leant in and read what was on the screen.

**Name:** Naruto Uzumaki

**Birth Date:** 10/10/93

**Address:** 36 Dolphin Court, Konoha, 5961

**Eye Colour:** Blue

**Hair Colour:** Blonde

**Height:** 163 cm

**Parents:** Ryota Takahashi (Father, deceased), Maiko Takahashi (Mother, deceased)  
Iruka Umino (Adoptive father, living)

**Siblings:** Kiba Inuzuka (Adoptive brother)

**Education:** Suna Academy (Former school)

Konoha High School (Current school)

**Extra Information:** Boy is scarred on both cheeks and feels the need to hide them. Caution must be taken when dealing with.

Ino frowned at the last sentence and huffed, "That gave me nothing except for what he's hiding under that hair." She said unhappily and groaned loudly. She scanned through the information again "Maybe I could go visit his old school and get some dirt on him there." She said thoughtfully and stood up. She gave Kankuro's head a quick pat and swept from the room. Kankuro growled and fixed up his beanie.

"You're welcome." He yelled after her sarcastically.

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As the popular saying goes: Hell hath no fury like a women scorned. Ino had been on four different buses, asked for directions over ten times and had spent a total of five hours looking for Suna Academy. Ino smiled as she finally saw the sign above the large gates and sat outside eating a blueberry muffin, waiting patiently for the students to be released. Just as she threw the wrapper in the bin a stampede of students poured from the gate, hurrying to get home. She waited until the crowd thinned out and approached two boys waiting for the bus to come. As she approached, the one with orange hair and brown eyes nudged his friend. The brunette looked up and smirked at Ino while winking his black eye. She rolled her eyes in return.

"Do either of you remember Naruto Uzumaki? He used to come here." She started and the brunette stroked an imaginary beard.

"You mean Fox right?" he asked and Ino looked at him in confusion.

"Fox?" she questioned and the orange haired boy spoke up.

"Yeah just an old nickname." He said shrugging. Ino nodded and turned back to the brunette.

"Can you guys tell me anything about him, as in was he liked?" she questioned and the boys exchanged glances. The brunette shrugged and turned back to Ino.

"Uh well nobody really liked him because; you know he's a dorky nerd." He said and turned to his orange haired friend. The guy nodded.

"This one group of guys would always beat up on him you know? Like call him names, corner him in an empty hallway and beat him up. Sometimes they publicly humiliated him." He said and the brunette nodded.

"Yeah remember that one time they threatened to cut his hair if he didn't walk around in a sack all day?" the orange haired boy nodded "Then they called him a poorbie orphan even though he had an adoptive dad and a brother, what's his name? Uh Kiba." The brunette finished and actually looked a bit sad.

"Yeah that kid tried to stop it all too but it was one guy against like the entire school." The orange haired boy said. "Fox didn't let it get to him though." He said nudging the brunette and he perked up slightly.

"Yeah him and Kiba were always pulling pranks and making people laugh even when they got beaten for it." He said chuckling "Kinda miss that kid you know, always thought he was nice and cheerful." He admitted, sounding reminiscent, he turned to Ino again and smiled "I'm glad he's at a different school now." The orange haired boy smiled too.

"Yeah it's probably more accepting then ours." He said and the brunette grinned.

"Yeah! He's probably got tons of friends there!" he turned to Ino "Oi are you one of his friends?" he questioned and Ino felt guilt bubble in her chest.

"Yeah something like that." She whispered "Ah I've got to go now thanks for telling me that." She said quickly and hurried back into the city.

"OI!" she heard a yell from behind her, she whirled around and saw that it was the brunette who was addressing her "Tell Naruto we said hi eh?" he yelled and Ino nodded curtly and began to run.

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The next morning Ino walked into the school and noticed that her chest was tightening uncomfortably. She recognised the feeling as guilt _I don't know if I can do this, I feel kind of bad for him_ she thought to herself. She turned left to the usual meeting place of her friends and stopped when she saw Naruto leaning in close to Sakura to tell her something. She laughed and Naruto tilted his head to the side cheerfully. Anger flared inside Ino and she marched up to Naruto until she was standing just behind him. She leant in.

"Good Morning Fox." She whispered tauntingly and smirked when she saw Naruto freeze.

"_Good morning Fox." Naruto heard a voice whisper into his ear and whirled around to find the matron looming over him threateningly. "Why isn't this dorm spotless?" She demanded and Naruto shook in fright._

"_Na-Naruto's sorry M-matron, Naruto was really tired last night and he couldn't finish it all." He whispered and cried out when he felt a slap against his cheek. The matron growled angrily and dragged Naruto to a steel door. Naruto struggled and protested loudly but that didn't perturb her and she roughly shoved him into the room and locked the door._

"_You know the rules Fox." He heard a cruel voice whisper from the other side of the door "You don't finish your chores and you get three hours in the animal room." She said and he heard her walking away. Naruto shuttered and turned around to face the room. The only light in the room shone from a fireplace in the corner and the flickering caused shadows to crawl across the walls and floor. Naruto screamed when something brushed up against his hand and looked down quickly to see what it was. A stuffed rabbit with unforgiving eyes was looking up at him from a side table and the flickering light made it look angry and alive. Naruto cried out and backed away from the menacing rabbit quickly and froze when he ran into something furry and big. He slowly turned around and came face to face with a stuffed black bear, its face frozen in a ferocious growl and arms raised threateningly above its head. Naruto screamed and dropped to the floor. He glanced around the room, terrified of what was in the dark. The light flickered off of other stuffed animals and trophy heads; their teeth seemingly glistening and their eyes with a maniacal glint. Naruto shivered and scrambled backwards into a wall, he covered his eyes and started counting in his head. He did math problems, counted how many feet were in the orphanage by memory and the amount of appendages on his body. He kept counting for the next two long hours; desperately trying to keep his mind off of the monsters lurking in the dark._

Ino frowned when she noticed that Naruto had begun to shake violently and was whispering frantically to himself. She reached out a hand and placed it gently on his shoulder. Naruto screamed and fell to the floor still shaking.

"NO! There is approximately sixteen square feet of sunlight, three trees and fourteen tables." Naruto said frantically and the group was shocked to see that blood had begun to drip from Naruto's nose. They dropped to their knees quickly but Naruto ignored them. "Nine people, eighteen eyes, thirty-six appendages, two blondes, two brunettes, four ravens and one pinkette." He continued and the group exchanged glances. Naruto was still shaking and didn't stop his desperate search to count things. "One Naruto, one Sasuke, one Chouji, one Sakura, one Hinata, one Shino, one Lee, one Neji and one I-Ino." He stuttered "Three bushes, eight shirts, eighteen socks, three pairs of black eyes, one pair of green, two pairs of blues, two pairs of purple and one unknown." His voice suddenly dropped back to a whisper and the group couldn't make out what he was saying. Sakura looked up at Ino.

"What the hell did you do Ino?!" she yelled, Ino shook her head and was about to answer when Kiba ran in from nowhere and skidded to a halt beside Naruto_. _He dropped to his knees and ignoring Naruto's protests; grabbed his shoulders.

"Holy shit! Naruto what's wrong?" he questioned frantically and glanced around. He spotted Ino and glared fiercely at her. "What the hell did you say to him Yamanaka?" He yelled and Ino hesitated "He's having a panic attack you idiot, just tell me what you said!" he screamed. Ino started in surprise.

"I just said good morning Fox." She said and crept closer. Kiba tensed up immensely and used his sleeve to wipe the blood coming from Naruto's nose. He glared up at Ino and shifted Naruto so that the boy was sitting between his thighs and his back was on Kiba's stomach and chest. He stared to rub Naruto's arms soothingly and glared up at Ino.

"Where did you learn that name?" he questioned hotly. Ino felt terrified and on the spot.

"I- He…When he tilts his head he reminds me of a fox." She lied and Kiba looked at her suspiciously. He looked away from her and started to rock Naruto gently before carefully taking his glasses off and covering Naruto's eyes with his hands.

"Hey, it's okay Naru-Chan, I'm here, Kiba-Kun is here." He told Naruto is a comforting voice. Naruto stopped shaking and whispering although he was still hyperventilating. Kiba took his hands from Naruto's eyes and reaching into his bag, pulled out an inhaler. He put it to Naruto's mouth and the boy latched onto it frantically. Kiba pulled Naruto's hands away gently and continued to talk to the boy in a calm soothing voice "Okay, I'm here, no ones hurting you Naruto, all the animals are gone." Kiba pressed the nozzle on the inhaler and Naruto pulled in a deep breath "Breathe with me Naru, feel how my chest's moving? You move with it. It's okay 1...2…3…4…5…6. Alright good job, do you think you can breathe on your own now?" Kiba questioned gently and Naruto gave a small nod "Okay." Kiba took the inhaler and put it back in his pack. Naruto turned around quickly and latched onto Kiba's shirt. Sasuke could hear the quiet sobs coming from his mate-to-be and shivered slightly. "Stay here." He heard Kiba order "I'm taking Naruto to the office and calling Iruka." He said, picking Naruto up bridle style and walking quickly towards the administration building. The second he was gone all eyes were on Ino and she shifted uncomfortably.

"Alright, alright." She said frantically "I went to his old school because I was still angry about the day in the cafeteria. I talked to some of the kids there and they said that no one really liked him and that they used to call him Fox. I had no idea he'd have that reaction." She said and looked into the unforgiving faces of her peers "Look I'm sorry, I feel awful now. I promise I'll try my best to befriend him and be nice." Ino said and a few nodded. Just then Kiba walked around the corner and picked up his backpack.

"Alright guys." He started and looked at all of them "Going to an orphanage sucked eggs for Naruto and he doesn't need any shit. So I'm going to give you a couple of rules. Please keep any bugs away from him and do _not_ call him Fox, freak, weirdo or any other names like that. Not even as a joke; just call him Naruto." He stated and everyone nodded, he turned to Ino "Ino, Fox was what they called him at the orphanage and he went through a lot there so he doesn't need any reminders." He said seriously, which was a big difference from his usual happy attitude. "I'm going home too. Don't worry about Naruto much, he'll bounce back, he always does." He said and heaved a big sigh, he looked forlornly at the group "Just please, for once in his life let Naruto have friends, let him be normal for a change." Kiba sighed and walked away resignedly.

(A/N: So tempted to leave it here~)

Sakura looked after him sadly and turned back to Ino angrily.

"You're coming with me." She snarled and dragged Ino away from the group by the wrist.

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The next morning Naruto walked into the large shiny floored music room with Kiba and they sat in one of the waiting chairs. Other students soon arrived and the room began to fill with chatter. Naruto abruptly looked up from his conversation with Kiba and saw that not only was Sasuke in this class as well but was looking at him again. _What's this guy's problem? He's always looking at me._ He thought to himself and quickly looked back to Kiba. The music door opened and a young lady with black hair and what looked to be red eyes came in carrying a small folder. She walked to the front of the class and greeted everyone.

"Hello class." She began smiling. "Now I assume you're all aware of our new students so I won't make them introduce themselves. I expect all of you are prepared to work hard this lesson and I'll get Kiba and Naruto to try out instruments later. By the way boys my name is Kurinai." She finished and continued to walk towards her desk. Sakura, Hinata and surprisingly Ino walked up to him and Kiba. Kiba glanced sideways at Naruto and grabbed the dark haired girl with the pale eyes.

"Hello Naruto." she whispered "Are you feeling better?" Naruto smiled at her cheerfully and tilted his head to the side.

"Of course I am Hinata, I'm kind of used to it anyway." Ino looked guiltily at him and walked forward until she was directly in front of him.

"Naruto." She began "I am so sorry about lunch; it's just…well I guess I am just like your stereotypical popular girl. I'm irrational and nasty and I'm sorry for saying all those terrible things to you. Please accept my apology." She looked pleadingly at Naruto then continued "Of course you don't have to be my friend now but if you want to the offer is there." Naruto grinned foxily at her and suddenly she was gripped in a tight hug. She gasped before returning the hug whole heartedly. Naruto pulled back and grinned sheepishly at her.

"Sorry about that, I'm just a touchy sorta guy. Apology accepted and I would love to be your friend." She looked at him incredulously.

"Not that I'm not grateful but Naruto how can you forgive me so fast." She asked confused. Naruto smiled at her and glanced towards the floor shyly.

"Simple." He replied "I'm just a forgiving sort of guy." Ino smiled at him and sat on the side Kiba wasn't on. She turned to him and studied him for a bit. Naruto looked back at her and tilted his head cutely. "Is there something wrong?" he asked. She opened her mouth to reply but stopped. She glanced at him again and said.

"You know Naruto; I think I know why Sakura likes you so much. You're an amazing person." She smiled widely at him and flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. Naruto blushed so deeply Ino could see it through his hair and shyly twiddled with his shirt.

"Thanks." He whispered. Ino shrugged and looked away.

"Naruto?" Kurinai called "It's time for you to pick an instrument." Naruto nodded and walked up to the front of the classroom fully aware of the eyes on him, especially those belonging to a certain Uchiha. "Can I get you to try the flute?" She asked. Naruto nodded and Kurinai handed him the flute head. Naruto covered the end and blew across the top gently; producing a low melodic sound. Kurinai seemed surprised but nodded and moved to the next; the clarinet. She washed the reed and placed it back into the clarinet before handing it toward Naruto. He took it gently and placed his fingers neatly above the keys and holes. Once again he bit the clarinet carefully and blew hard. The clarinet's voice ran through the room and the crowd stared in wonder. Once again Kurinai seemed amazed but continued to the next instrument; the saxophone. She picked it up and handed it to him after washing the reed and replacing it. Naruto bit onto the reed and blew, once again producing a clear gentle sound. The teacher's amazement grew and she continued to the next instrument. She picked up the trumpet mouthpiece after rinsing and drying it and Naruto put it to his lips. He adjusted them slightly then made the buzzing noise through his lips. The tiny sound reverberated through the trumpet head smoothly, so the teacher connected it to the rest of the trumpet. Once again Naruto put it to his mouth and blew into the mouthpiece. The trumpet buzzed to life and the sound rang through the room.

Kurinai shook her head in wonder and handed him the entire trombone rather than the mouthpiece. Naruto lifted the instrument and buzzed into the mouthpiece. As had all the other instruments, the trombone made a gentle melodic sound which reverberated throughout the room. Kurinai, no longer surprised just handed him the heavy tuba. Naruto put it to his lip and blew creating a deep tune which echoed through the room. Finally she pulled out the oboe and handed it over. Once again Naruto blew into the reed and created a perfect sound. Kurinai scratched her head.

"Well. Is there anything in particular you like? Or even want to try?" She asked dumbstruck. Naruto shook his head then paused.

"Could I maybe try the violin?" He asked politely. The teacher nodded and walked into the store room before returning with a neat violin. She handed to him with a smile; certain he would not be able to make a sound. But she was soon proved wrong. Naruto put the violin up to his chin and rested it against his shoulder. He pulled out the bow and gently pushed it across the strings. The violin buzzed to life creating a smooth sound across each string. The teacher just stared and several people in the audience clapped.

"Is…Is there anything else you want to try?" She asked curiously. This time Naruto shook his head for certain. The teacher just stared for the moment. "Well. I'm afraid I will have to announce your instrument next lesson. You obviously have talent; let's hope we can fine tune it." Naruto nodded and smiled before walking back to his seat. Kiba stared at him wide eyed, and patted him on the back.

"That was awesome Naru!" He whispered in fascination. Naruto smiled and leant back in his chair.

"Kiba Inuzuka." Called Kurinai and Kiba glumly stood up. He picked up the flute and blew awkwardly across the top. No matter how hard he tried, no sound would come out. He moved onto the clarinet, and once again no sound came out; rather a loud squeak. Kiba went from instrument to instrument, even trying his hand at the violin, which squealed angrily. Kiba sighed.

"I can't play anything." He said glumly. Kurinai smiled and patted him on the back.

"Maybe not. What are you interested in? Maybe we can teach over time." Kiba sighed and looked over to Naruto for help. Naruto stood up and mimed an air guitar solo. Kiba knew exactly what he was telling him.

"I'd like to play guitar." He said firmly. The teacher gazed down at him.

"Hmm. What sort of guitar?" She asked with a smirk. Kiba smiled.

"Electric." He answered. She grinned.

"I thought you might say that. I'll be right back." Kiba looked up expectantly as she walked into the store room and returned with an acoustic guitar. She handed it to him. "Play 'Hot Cross Buns,' on one string." She announced. Kiba gazed up at her and sat down on a chair. He fiddled with the strings before he found what he thought was the right notes. Then he played. His fingers flew up and down the strings and he plucked the string sharply with his nail. Soon the rhythm of 'Hot Cross Buns' was flowing across the room. He occasionally added his own touch and was soon making 'Hot Cross Buns' seem like a world renowned rock song. Kurinai clapped when he finished.

"Well done Kiba. I think you can play the guitar well. We will start you on the acoustic, but in time I will slowly teach you electric. This year's band may be more interesting than I thought." She said smiling. Kiba grinned and handed back the guitar before skipping happily back to his chair beside Naruto; and hugged Hinata, with a blush running up his cheek.

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Naruto sighed as he entered the English classroom; he stood awkwardly beside the door and waited for Sakura. She arrived a few minutes later.

"Sorry I'm late Naruto, I ran into Ino and she had to tell me something. Oh and by the way in this class we have to sit in alphabetical order so you can't sit with me this lesson." She noticed his grin falter "Don't worry I'm sure the person you sit next to will become your friend." She said with a smile which Naruto returned. By that time the entire class had entered and were seated around the room in alphabetical order. Sakura gave him one last smile before going to sit next to a girl with her brown hair done up in two high buns. After waiting for ten minutes Naruto started playing nervously with his hair. He once again felt eyes on him and looked up to see Sasuke smirking amusingly at him. Naruto blew a raspberry in his direction and was happy when Sasuke glanced away quickly.

Sasuke glared down at his desk. Was Naruto doing this on purpose? Did he know what he was doing to Sasuke? After Sasuke had sat down for class he watched Naruto and Sakura exchange smiles and repressed the urge to rip her throat out. Then Naruto had stood nervously playing with his hair and biting his plump pink lips, Sasuke had crossed his legs to stop himself from jumping up and claiming Naruto as his. Then he'd poked his tongue out at Sasuke and he had felt the familiar burn of desire in his stomach. He didn't understand why he was so attracted to Naruto. He didn't even know what the boy looked like for god's sake. Yes he had a nice smile and practically edible lips and his hair looked silky and shone brightly in the sunshine. But Sasuke couldn't see anything behind that hair, what if Naruto had horrible acne? A really big nose or a huge wart? He then remembered what Naruto had said to Ino yesterday.

"_I…hide my face because of the reactions people have when they look at me. I'm ashamed of my looks."_

Sasuke groaned, just great the guy was unbearably ugly and people had looked at him in disgust so he grew his hair out. This just wasn't right; the Uchiha's were the most powerful clan of the demonic world. They were amazingly strong when they perfected the art of changing into their pure demon form; an act Sasuke had failed at, were extremely intelligent and beautiful. They were meant to choose equal mates and here Sasuke was being mated to a person who probably didn't match any of those descriptions. _That's probably why Kakashi was so surprised when he found out_ he thought to himself bitterly. He was a failure, the last of the Uchiha clan and he had chosen this human for a mate. He studied Naruto again and found that because the boy wore such baggy clothes he couldn't make out whether he was big, slim or even if he had any muscles. Sasuke growled deep in his throat and glared at Naruto.

Naruto heard a throat being cleared to his left and looked up to see a man he almost mistook for Iruka. He had the same hairstyle and colour as Iruka but instead of brown eyes he had black. He slouched and regarded Naruto with a lazy expression.

"Hello, my name is Shikamaru and I'll be teaching in Jaraiya's place for the next few weeks." He said in a bored tone. Naruto looked at him, confused.

"I'm new." He replied and shrugged. Shikamaru sighed deeply.

"Troublesome. I hope you all heard that." He said indicating the class, a few murmured in return and he took a seat at the front desk. He opened a folder and studied a sheet inside for a few seconds. "Uzumaki you're next to Uchiha." He murmured and stood with a piece of chalk and wrote something on the board. Naruto looked at him _When did I give him my name?_ He asked himself before shrugging it off and walking to take the seat beside Sasuke. On the way he heard numerous students asking where Jaraiya was but Shikamaru deemed it all too troublesome. Naruto sat nervously next to Sasuke and gave him a small smile. Sasuke glanced over coolly and had to restrain himself from holding the shorter boy to him tightly. He glanced up at Shikamaru and was confused to see him smirking knowingly at him. Shikamaru pointed lazily at the board.

"Read that and do the questions. Don't ask for help." He said then laid his head on the table before appearing to fall asleep. Naruto raised a brow.

"Weird guy." He said to no one in particular. Sasuke glanced over. This would be the perfect opportunity to talk to Naruto and find out more about him.

"Jaraiya was weirder." He said awkwardly. Naruto looked at him in complete and utter shock; luckily Sasuke couldn't see his expression because of his hair. He titled his head cutely and smiled brightly.

"How's that?" he asked innocently. For the first time in five long years Sasuke actually had to fight to keep the smile off of his face.

"Jaraiya starts the class by reading to us from his latest book." He told Naruto. That cute head tilt came back and once again he had to refrain from smiling.

"That doesn't seem too bad. I mean he is an English teacher." Naruto said. Sasuke smirked.

"Yes I suppose but Naruto do you know what Jaraiya writes about?" he asked and Naruto shook his head, Sasuke smirked and leant in to whisper huskily in Naruto's ear "Jaraiya writes porn." He delighted in the shiver that ran through Naruto's entire body and fought not to nip at his bared neck. He pulled back and saw the blush through Naruto's hair. "One day he was reading a passage to us when Kurinai walked past, she heard what she was reading and had him in a headlock before he could get the next word out. He was never the same after that day." He continued and was rewarded by a cute giggle. Now Sasuke had many many fangirls after his good looks and power; everyday he had to endure their heavily made up faces and listen to their shrill giggles. He swore that he would kill the next thing that giggled at him. But Naruto's giggle was low and melodic to his ear's, it sent a pool of heat into the pits of his stomach and he had to battle for control again. He glanced at his mate to be and found he didn't quite mind what was behind that hair. If it turns out for the worst maybe he could get Tsunade to do something, but at the moment Sasuke was quite content with Naruto.

"You look nice when you smile Sasuke. You should do it more often." Naruto said shyly the blush still on his face. Sasuke looked at him mortified and was shocked to discover that he was indeed smiling. It was small but it was still there. He looked back at Naruto and smirked.

"So you think I'm attractive?" he asked slyly. Naruto tilted his head again.

"Well yes I do." Sasuke was shocked; he wasn't actually expecting Naruto to say that. "And when you smile you look truly beautiful." Naruto continued before turning back to the board and opening his English textbook to the appropriate page. Inside Naruto was freaking out. _What the hell was that?!_ He shouted at himself. _Why did I say that? Oh god I can just imagine what he's thinking, Naruto you really are a loser._

Sasuke was still gaping at Naruto. Sasuke felt a sudden urge to pull the boy into a hug. Never before had he been called beautiful. It had always been: Oh Sasuke you're so hot! Or Sasuke you are smoking today! And Naruto had said he was beautiful. True that's not the thing a guy wants to hear but Naruto had said it calmly and without a trace of mockery. Sasuke could tell his feelings towards his mate to be were growing stronger and more sincere. Sasuke thought back to the advice Iruka had given him.

"_He's a very stubborn boy; you might want to start with being his friend before you begin the courting process."_

Sasuke smirked. Becoming Naruto's friend wouldn't be too hard. The first thing he had to do was make sure Naruto was truly calm and didn't think that Sasuke thought badly of him. Sasuke leaned closer to Naruto and cherished the moment to get a lungful of his orangey scent. He nudged Naruto softly. Naruto yelped loudly and threw his pen over his head, Sasuke smiled; his mate to be was truly cute. Naruto looked over at Sasuke nervously.

"Did you need something?" He asked tilting his head. It reminded Sasuke briefly of a dog or perhaps a fox.

"I just wanted to say thank you for the compliment." Sasuke looked down awkwardly "No one's ever called me beautiful before." He murmured. Naruto grinned broadly.

"Your welcome. All you need to do is smile more Sasuke." Sasuke's body gave an involuntary shiver at his name "Promise me you'll smile more?" Naruto asked. Sasuke didn't have time to think twice before a gentle smile slowly spread across his face. Naruto gave him his usual foxy grin and all of a sudden Sasuke had an armful of Naruto. He unconsciously pulled the boy closely and inhaled the scent of his hair deeply. All too soon Naruto was gone and was looking at Sasuke with a light blush on his face. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Sorry Sasuke I'm just a really intimate person with my friends." He said apologetically. Sasuke's face lit up and he smiled again.

"So you're my friend now?" he asked. Naruto nodded then stopped and looked at Sasuke.

"Is that alright with you?" he asked timidly. Sasuke handed him a pen and he looked at it with a confused expression on his face. "Huh?"

"You threw your's away earlier and replacing it seemed like something a friend would do." Was all Sasuke said. Naruto grinned up at him happily and turned back to his textbook. Sasuke gazed at Naruto for another few seconds before turning to his book. _Well that was easy_ he thought to himself.

* * *

And we have Friendship~ i also liked writing the touching scene between scared!Naruto and caring older brother!Kiba. Also the part at the beginning with Naruto's flashback to the animal room i hope that people understood that the room would of been really scary for a little kid, also now we know why Naruto's good at maths! whenever he's scared he starts to count things. Anyway i've blabbered on enough, farewell! and remember to review dears,

Hotaru~

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	6. Chapter 5

Hey guys! thanks for all the reveiws!!! i literally started to skip around the house! So this chapter is sorta like a filler; not much happens. Let's just say that this is character building and the Konoha group and Naruto and Kiba are getting closer. Here's chapter five of the exciting story Fox Fire! *cheers*

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**~Chapter Five~**

Kiba was following Naruto dutifully to school when a sudden idea flooded into his head. Naruto spun around as if sensing the light bulb appearing above Kiba's head and grinned widely.

"You just thought of a prank didn't you?" he asked cheerfully and Kiba nodded and grinned widely. He crept closer to Naruto and whispered into his ear; a slow smile spread across Naruto's face and he dragged Kiba towards the nearest convenience store.

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That morning when Naruto and Kiba entered the school building they were ecstatic to find that an emergency assembly had been called. They quietly snuck out while Principal Sarutobi was mumbling on about something to do with Deidara's latest 'experiment'. Naruto giggled cutely as he followed Kiba down the hall and quickly grabbed his jacket when Kiba almost walked past the door leading to the basement. Kiba grinned a thanks and grabbed the door handle. When the door didn't budge the grin fell.

"Dammit, it's locked." He frowned and glanced at Naruto in disappointment. Naruto grinned hugely.

"Oh ye of little faith Kiba." He said in mock disappointment "You forgot just who you're pranking with here." He exclaimed and whipped out a pair of metal sticks. Kiba laughed and stepped back to keep watch. Naruto turned back to the lock _Ha as if this puny lock could keep out the great Naruto Uzumaki_ he thought smugly and within seconds the door was gliding open. Kiba and Naruto crept down the stairs both holding flashlights and humming the mission impossible theme song. "Hey Kiba you do know that we could just turn the lights right?" Naruto questioned when they reached the bottom. Kiba shushed him.

"Yeah but lights on just ruins the effect." He whispered and dropped to the ground before putting the flashlight between his teeth. Naruto giggled and copied him. They both army crawled towards the centre of the room and Naruto pulled out a crookedly drawn map. Kiba laughed loudly. "You even drew a map?" he asked excitedly and Naruto nodded.

"What would a prank be without the plan map?" Naruto asked proudly and turned to the map. "Even if it doesn't match up with the room." He said in disappointed. Kiba laughed again and army rolled towards a long panel of electrical cords. He put his fist in front of his mouth in a mock walkie talky.

"Pshh, WhiteFang to RamenKing, I've found my destination. How are things at your end? Over." He whispered and made appropriate static sounds. Naruto did a bunch of elegant twirls and flips before pressing his back against the water system. He dropped to a crouch and lifted a fist to his mouth.

"Pshh, RamenKing to WhiteFang, I'm at my point. Follow through with the plan. Over." He whispered and turned towards the water tank connected to the fire sprinklers. Naruto lifted the lid carefully and put it on the ground. He rummaged around in his pack and pulled out a large bottle of semi-permeable non-toxic green dye and carefully poured the entire bottle into the water tank. He grinned and quickly got rid of all evidence linking him to the crime scene. On Kiba's end he had successfully gained access to the school mainframe thanks to a certain kitty-eared beanie wearing kid. He grinned evilly and quickly typed in the needed passwords and set the sprinklers to go off at an allotted time. Kiba quickly disposed of his virtual trail and disconnected the laptop from the electrical panel. He stuffed everything back into his pack.

"Pshh, WhiteFang to RamenKing, mission is a success. Will meet you at the rendezvous point." He spoke into his 'walkie talky" and joined Naruto at the bottom of the stairs. They took the steps two at a time and Naruto quickly locked the door again, making sure to wipe his prints.

"I haven't had this much fun in a long time!" Naruto exclaimed and Kiba grabbed his shoulder.

"Neither have I Naruto." He agreed "Now all we have to do is wait." Kiba cackled out and he and Naruto walked to their first class with identical devious smirks plastered on their faces.

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Five minutes before the bell rang for lunch Naruto put his hand up and waved it around insistently. Their biology teacher Sasori glanced up from the rat he had been skinning to use as an educational puppet and walked towards Naruto.

"Is there something wrong Mr Uzumaki?" he asked impatiently, itching to get back to the rat. Naruto grinned and held up the biology handout.

"I finished the hand out Sasori, I was wondering if I could go to the bathroom since there's only five minutes left and I finished my work." He asked cheerfully and Sasori raised a red eye-brow in question. When his attention was solely on the paper in front of him Naruto signalled to Kiba and the boy nodded before sneaking out the classroom door. Sasori handed Naruto the sheet back and nodded his consent. Naruto quickly packed up his things and ran out the door. He didn't stop running until he reached the cafeteria and dived into the seat beside Kiba who grinned deviously.

"And now we wait." He said with a smirk.

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Exactly ten minutes later loud shrieks and yells reverberated around the school walls as the students were drenched in green water. Many girls rushed to the bathrooms and wiped the water from their skin only to find that the green wasn't coming of any time soon. Naruto and Kiba watched in contained amusement as close to three quarters of the student body walked through the cafeteria doors completely green from head to toe. Many of them grabbed their lunches quickly and opted to sit outside where they could dry off. Naruto lost his composure and sniggered when he saw Neji and Sasuke with their usual creamy skin coloured a ghastly green. Kiba chuckled lightly and only when their adoptive group of friends were all standing before him did he break out in a raucous bout of laughter.

"You guys look like a bunch of broccoli!" He exclaimed hysterically and fell backwards off his chair. Naruto began to giggle uncontrollably and fell to the ground as well. When the boys finally settled down they only had to look at the group before they fell about laughing again. The group's glares slowly changed to small smiles and finally they were laughing as well. Sasuke stopped his brief chuckle and glared down at his green clothes in disgust. He pulled the sticky material away from his body only to have it cling back.

"Can we sit outside?" he asked "I'd like to get dry." He added and the group nodded and followed him to the courtyard. Sasuke looked around and noticed the large birch tree in the corner of the yard and motioned towards it. When they were all comfortable sitting on the grass and in the sun they were interrupted by a loud cry of joy. They all looked over to the commotion a few metres away and saw that Gai and Lee were both doing a weird dance. Naruto watched in wonder as the scenery behind the two _entirely_ green men turned into an ocean and sparkles adorned their teeth. Suddenly Gai embraced Lee in a hug and they both burst into tears.

"OH LEE!! Our day has been blessed by the SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH! You look so handsome while wearing the YOUTHFUL suit I made you and the youthful gods have shined down upon us and graced us with green rain!" Gai exclaimed through his tears. Lee burst into tears again and hugged Gai tightly. Naruto pulled at the collar of his shirt and turned back to the group.

"Uh is that legal?" he asked in a worried voice and the group fell apart. Suddenly Sakura sat up dead straight and glared at Naruto fiercely.

"Oh Naruto~." She asked, too innocently for Naruto's taste.

"Y-Yes Sakura?" he asked edging away from her slowly.

"Please, tell me why neither you nor Kiba are dyed green?" she asked. Naruto grinned brightly and relaxed. He and Kiba glanced at each other and both wore identical devious smirks. At the same time they put the tips of their fingers together in the classical evil genius pose.

"We may have had something to do with it." They said mischievously in unison and collapsed into maniacal laughter at the same time.

"You mean to tell me that you not only snuck away somehow but managed to rig the sprinklers to go off at a certain time and polluted the water with green dye?" Neji asked incredulously. Naruto and Kiba turned twin grins on him and nodded.

"Yeah! Back at our old school we were known at the pranking kings. It's actually really simple for us to pull something like this off and it's really fun!" Naruto exclaimed and pumped his fist in the air. Everyone gave approving nods and Naruto grinned even wider.

"S-So what other p-pranks have you guys pulled?" Hinata asked curiously and Kiba grinned at her.

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Kiba let out a bark-like laugh and turned back to the group.

"It's true! He got suspended for like four weeks." Kiba laughed and punched Naruto lightly on the shoulder. Naruto grinned back and Sakura gasped loudly.

"Naruto you really put frogs in your old principal's car and put it on the office roof?" she asked incredulously. Naruto looked up, offended.

"What?! No way." He said and everyone glared at Kiba "They were toads." He continued deviously. The entire group burst out laughing and congratulated Naruto. Sasuke glanced at Naruto and saw the impish smile on his face. He couldn't help but to let the warmth he felt around Naruto envelope his heart. "Yeah." Naruto continued "There was no way I was letting her get away with kicking Akamaru out of the school." He said, folding his arms and pouting cutely. Everyone continued to laugh and the bell rang.

"Darn it." Ino exclaimed "I was really enjoying hearing about your pranking escapades." The rest of the group nodded in agreement. "We have music now don't we?" she asked and Naruto nodded at her "Oh did you hear? Kurinai said that today we would all be singing. Bleh" she said, making a face. Everyone groaned and Naruto looked at Ino nervously.

"I've never tried to sing before, what if I make a fool out of myself?" he asked. Ino looked over at him and grinned reassuringly.

"Don't worry Naruto, if you suck no one will really care. Plus I don't think you will, you seem to be full to the brim with musical talent." Naruto leaned over and gave her a quick thank you hug, to which Sasuke had gotten used to seeing. Only when another demon like Neji, Shino or Lee got a hug did he begin to feel possessive. Alas the boys knew to stay away from what Sasuke had laid claim on, lets just say that Lee was still feeling the pain in his groin from the last time he'd given Naruto a hug. They all rose from their seats and made their way slowly to the music room, all were dreading the upcoming lesson.

-------------------------

As Naruto and the group entered the music room Kurinai ran over hurriedly and stopped in front of Naruto.

"Hello Naruto, I've assigned you an instrument." Kurinai said and Naruto looked at her excitedly.

"Oh what is it?" he asked. Kurinai gave him a large smile.

"The violin." She stated "You have to believe me when I say this Naruto but violins are exceedingly hard instruments to master. In all my years of teaching and musical experience I have never met someone who could effortlessly play a violin on their first go." She praised and Naruto smiled shyly; not used to this much praise. "Therefore I assigned you the violin, are you okay with that?" she questioned and Naruto nodded with a smile. "Excellent, also I was wondering if I could teach you piano as well? It's just that you seem to have a natural ability with music and we don't have any pianists." Kurinai asked in a pleading tone. Naruto grinned widely.

"Of course Kurinai! I'd be happy to learn the piano." He said and Kurinai hugged him tightly. She leapt back quickly and dusted her dress nervously.

"Sorry about that, I'm just really excited." She explained and Naruto nodded.

"Don't worry, I'm prone to hugs as well." He admitted and Kurinai smiled. By that time the rest of the class were waiting for the lesson to begin so Kurinai walked to the front of the class and looked expectantly at everyone.

"Is anyone interested in going first?" She asked loudly. Kiba turned to Naruto.

"Come on. Let's both go." He said and Naruto looked nervously at Ino who smiled encouragingly, he nodded and followed Kiba to stand in front of Kurinai. She smiled at them knowingly and handed Kiba the microphone and a piece of paper with lyrics written on it. She then walked over to the CD player and pushed 'play.' Instantly a tune gushed from its speakers and Kiba tapped his foot to the familiar beat. The first verse came up and surprisingly Kiba sung in a voice that almost mimicked the singer. Kurinai looked on; impressed, and the rest of the glass gazed in awe. Naruto grinned at Kiba and shortly the chorus began. When the song finished the class clapped and Kiba took an exaggerated bow.

"Well done Kiba!" Kurinai said brightly "Okay, now it's Naruto's turn." Kiba nodded and handed over the microphone to Naruto. Kurinai handed him a different sheet of lyrics. Naruto looked at the microphone in fear then looked up in the crowd. He didn't know he had been searching out Sasuke until their gazes met. Sasuke smiled gently and Naruto relaxed slightly. Kurinai started up a slower, more melodic song and looked at Naruto; giving him a reassuring smile. As soon as the music started Naruto completely relaxed and hummed lightly along with the first few cords. A slow smile crossed his face; his sudden change in appearance didn't go unnoticed and his friends looked at each other in confusion. The first verse started and Naruto let his voice flow through the microphone. Several jaws dropped and others just stared in awe as Naruto's voice moved like melting chocolate through the crowd. Unlike Kiba who had impersonated the singer, Naruto out-did him, easily making the song ten times better by using his own voice.

_When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;  
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;  
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,  
Until you come and sit awhile with me._

Here Naruto looked Kiba dead in the eye and gave him a thankful smile.

_You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;  
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;  
You raise me up: To more than I can be._

He sang in a melodic voice and Kiba felt tears begin to prick at his eyes.

_You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;  
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;  
You raise me up: To more than I can be._

_There is no life - no life without its hunger;  
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;  
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,  
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity._

_You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;  
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;  
You raise me up: To more than I can be._

A tear ran down Kiba's cheek and he hastily wiped it away before anyone could see.

_You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;  
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;  
You raise me up: To more than I can be._

When Naruto drew out the last few notes of the song, Sasuke was gazing at him hungrily and there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Kurinai looked around the class in confusion; it seemed as if the entire class went through the same reaction as her. When Naruto had started the song and sung those first few lines an increasing sadness had built up in her chest before being released by her tears. Naruto had looked so natural up on that stage, as if he was made to be surrounded by music.

Sasuke wiped his eyes and was surprised to find them wet with tears, he looked at Naruto in amazement; he hadn't cried since he was ten years old. _Naruto, just what is it about you? Only you can bring these reactions out of me _he thought to himself. Then he glanced round the room and was surprised to see that every single person in the room was crying. _What? How? Naruto?_

Naruto jumped down from the stage and launched himself at Kiba. They embraced tightly.

"I saw that tear Kiba Inuzuka." Naruto whispered and Kiba blushed.

"Yeah well, it was a good song okay." He said gruffly; hiding his face from Naruto who grinned knowingly and released him. Kurinai walked over to Naruto and gave him another sheet of paper with lyrics on it. This time she chose a more upbeat, joyful song. Naruto wandered back onto the stage and when his voice flowed over the audience everyone had the overwhelming feeling to grin and laugh. Ino and Sakura actually began jumping around and skipping while singing along. Sasuke studied the most stoic people he knew and was absolutely stunned to find Shino bobbing his head happily and Neji spinning Hinata in a circle. When Naruto had finished, the entire class were in such high spirits they weren't even nervous about getting up and singing in front of the class. While none of them were quite on par with Naruto, this year's music class definitely had some talent.

-------------------------

As Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto entered the science room Naruto noticed a short dark haired male standing beside Deidara's desk. Naruto looked worriedly at the bright orange mask the man was wearing and nudged Sasuke in the side.

"Hey Sasuke who's the scary man beside the table?" he asked innocently and Sasuke glanced over to the side. He was about to answer when the man leapt across the room and halted before Naruto.

"Tobi's not scary you silly head." He said in a boyish tone and put his hands on his hips "Tobi's here to surprise Deidara!" he exclaimed and flailed his arms in the air. Naruto backed away from the man carefully and took his seat at the back of the room. Tobi wandered over to the supply closet and started to shift through the chemicals. Soon Deidara walked through the door and missed Tobi's figure near the supply closet.

"Alright class today we're going to-" Deidara started but was interrupted by a loud crash. He spun around and looked in horror at Tobi who was running around the room trying to take his jacket, which was slowly being consumed by acid, off. "TOBI! How did you get past the security, yeah?" he asked and backed into a corner, Tobi ran forward and hugged him tightly.

"Tobi is a good boy! He came to visit you in your class!" he yelled, sounding proud of himself. Deidara shoved him away and began to yell at him. Naruto glanced to his left and noticed that no one was fazed by the arguing men. Sakura caught his look and smiled at him.

"We're used to it. Tobi does this like three or four times a month." She whispered and Naruto nodded sagely. He couldn't help but giggle at the way Tobi acted and it wasn't long before Deidara gave up and continued on with the lesson.

"Right, today we're going to add vinegar and baking soda together, yeah." He said cheerfully and the class groaned and looked at each other, exasperated. Their expressions quickly changed when Deidara pulled out eight litres of vinegar and twenty kilograms of baking soda. "This is going to make one hell of an explosion, un." He grinned and the class cleared their throats nervously.

-------------------------

The class watched on in fear as Tobi and Deidara poured what remained of the vinegar into a large volcano mould and positioned the baking soda above. Just before Deidara up ended the sack Tobi ran towards the table Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were seated at.

"Take cover!" he screamed and dived behind their desks. Before anyone could react a loud explosion rocked the room and a sticky pink substance flew everywhere. Sakura and Sasuke ducked quickly but Naruto was too late. With a sickening squelch Naruto got a face full of the pink stuff.

"EWWWW!" he cried as it dripped down his body slowly. "Get it off! It's gross!" he demanded while pouting. Tobi popped up beside him and grabbed him in a sudden hug; not seeming to mind that he was getting pink stuff all over his shirt.

"Aw you're cute! Tobi likes you!" he crowed and Naruto moaned in despair.

-------------------------

After finally managing to pull Tobi away from Naruto, Deidara told the class that they could go without having to clean up as long as they didn't tell anyone what happened. As they met up with the rest of the group, the giggling couldn't be helped as they caught sight of Naruto who growled and pulled Kiba into the nearest bathroom. After Sakura had filled them in on what had happened Naruto came out of the bathroom all cleaned up. Although his shirt was stained pink where the substance had landed and his hair had a pink tinge to it. Sakura smirked triumphantly at him.

"We're green and you're pink." She said and chuckled. Naruto scowled at her before giggling lightly and shrugging.

* * *

Alrighty now that that's out of the way i have more plans. Hmm *strokes imaginary beard* perhaps Naruto and Sasuke have a DNM? PLease review guys! i love hearing from you! remember: your reviews make me happy and when i'm happy i write quicker!

Hotaru~


	7. Chapter 6

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Hello my lovely readers! thank you once again for all your reviews! Hopefully this chapter is exciting! CHAPTER SIX!

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**~Chapter Six~**

The next morning found the student body in fresh clothes and green free. Naruto sighed as he walked down the halls, he wasn't as lucky; there was still a slight tinge of pink in his hair. Suddenly a hand dropped onto his shoulder and Naruto turned around with a gasp to find Sasuke looking at him apologetically.

"Sorry Naruto, I didn't know that you would scare so easily." He said with a small smile. Naruto grinned back and shook his head.

"No it's okay, my head was in the clouds." He said with a chuckle. Sasuke nodded and the two began to walk towards their maths class. Whispers followed Naruto and his expression fell when he heard a few clearly.

"Hey that's the new kid right?" A voice asked.

"Yeah, I guess he's pretty ugly if he covers his face like that." A second answered. Naruto's smile dropped completely and he unconsciously let out waves of unhappiness. Sasuke scowled and turned to glare at the voices. They took one look at his expression and hurried off to class.

"Are you alright?" Sasuke asked Naruto. Naruto nodded his head quickly and gave a small smile.

"I'm fine." He said in a painfully fake cheer and Sasuke frowned again. He grabbed Naruto by the jacket sleeve and dragged him in the direction of the courtyard. He ignored Naruto's protests and plopped him down on the grass under the birch tree. Taking a seat beside Naruto, Sasuke steeled himself for the moment alone with the alluring blonde.

"Naruto I know your not 'fine'." He started and Naruto turned his face away. Sasuke sighed and made himself more comfortable. "People judge me on my looks as well." He started and Naruto looked at him in surprise "I'm not claiming to know what your situation is but I know how it feels to be judged as a person by looks alone." He said and Naruto scooted closer, indicating for him to continue "Ever since I was a child people have wanted to be near me because of my supposed good looks. Take Sakura for example, she's been after me as a mate since I was eight. No matter how indifferent I am to her and no matter how many times I turn her down, she just keeps coming back. The same goes for every other girl in this school. They don't want me for me; they just want me for my social status, wealth and looks." Sasuke sighed and noticed that he was rambling; _It's hard when you've never had to say this stuff before_. "I don't know if this is helping you any Naruto but I guess I'm just trying to say I know how you feel and you should forget about what those people say. You have friends here that don't mind that you cover your face." _Though it is frustrating_ "So try your very best to ignore them and if that doesn't work I'm positive they will once we're through with them. I hate seeing sad." Sasuke said and Naruto smiled at him.

"Thanks for letting me know more about you Sasuke and thank you for saying that." He said smiling brightly and jumped on Sasuke. Sasuke smiled and hugged Naruto tightly.

"You're welcome Naru." He whispered.

-------------------------

The sound of the bell signalling the end of lunch reverberated throughout the school grounds and Hinata sat up from where she was lying on the grass beside Kiba.

"I-isn't G-gaara coming back from holidays today?" she asked Neji. Neji thought for a bit before nodding.

"Yes Gaara is due back today." Neji replied and turned to Kiba and Naruto "You guys can meet our other friend today, his sister Temari took him on holiday to Egypt for his birthday." He explained and Sakura nodded quickly.

"Yeah, even though Garra's really quiet he should get along fine with you two. I mean everybody gets along with you guys." She said smiling at Naruto and Kiba. They grinned back.

"I can't wait to meet him." Naruto said with a foxy grin and Sasuke inwardly scowled. They stood quickly and walked to their lockers. Once they had grabbed their books, they began to walk towards their English class when Naruto suddenly stopped. Lee turned around quickly and grabbed Naruto by the shoulders.

"NARUTO! What is wrong my friend? Has the youth in your body been quenched by the evil cancers of pain?" He cried and began to shake Naruto "Speak to me my friend! I fear for your youth! Use the will of fire to overcome the pain!" He continued to yell and Naruto started to feel dizzy. Neji sighed and whacked Lee over the head.

"Nothings wrong with Naruto, quit it." He commanded and Lee backed away sheepishly. Naruto shook his head.

"I forgot my English textbook, you guys go on ahead of me and I'll just go get it." He said and turned around to head back to his locker.

"Worry not, my youthful friend! For the young and handsome Rock Lee will save you a seat in a rather youthful act of friendship!" he heard Lee exclaim, followed quickly by a yelp as Neji hit him over the head again.

-------------------------

Naruto was sprinting down the corridors towards his English class. He had emptied his entire locker before realising that he had left his textbook on the kitchen counter at home. He was now at least ten minutes late for class and was rushing towards the classroom. Suddenly Naruto slammed into something hard; the momentum caused him and the hard thing to fall to the ground and Naruto stuck out his hands to break his fall. He heard a grunt of pain and realised that he was straddling a person. Their faces were a mere four inches apart and Naruto's hands were on either side of the boys head. Naruto looked down in shock at the pale teen he was sitting on. The boy stared right back with sea-foam green eyes rimmed with dark circles, caused by lack of sleep. He had spiky blood red hair and a similarly coloured tattoo of the Japanese kanji for 'love' on his forehead. Naruto blushed when he realised that he was staring and he noticed the boy's pupils dilate. It dawned on Naruto that there was a strange breeze on his face and with a loud gasp realised that the boy beneath him had a clear view of his scarred face.

-------------------------

Gaara was walking towards the office when he was suddenly bowled over by a blonde blur. He landed on his back with the blonde straddling him and grunted in pain. He glared up at the blonde and prepared to threaten him when he fully took in the boys features. Large innocent cerulean-blue eyes stared down at him; framed perfectly by a pair of black glasses. The boy's long blonde fringe just brushed Gaara's forehead and he felt it tickle slightly. He had lightly tanned skin which was marked on either side by three parallel black marks and Gaara felt a twinge of recognition before his eyes were pulled down to the slightly parted pink lips. He shivered lightly and licked his lips. The boy above him blinked and a light tinge of pink dusted across his cheeks. Gaara felt something boiling in his stomach when suddenly the blonde boy let out a loud gasp and leapt from Gaara's lap. Gaara found that he sort of missed the boy's weight and pulled himself up steadily. The blonde boy quickly raked his fingers through his hair and made sure that it was covering his face. Gaara frowned and fought the urge to reach out and sweep the bangs aside. The blonde boy bent down and grabbing his books quickly, bowed to Gaara.

"Please forgive me." He whispered and took off down the corridor again. Gaara looked after him and felt something hot spread across his cheeks. With a cock of an eyebrow Gaara realised that he was blushing.

-------------------------

Naruto gasped for breath as he entered the classroom and Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at his lateness.

"Sorry Shikamaru, I thought I left my English textbook in my locker but then realised that I forgot it at home." He apologized and Shikamaru shrugged. Naruto quickly took his seat beside Sasuke and gave him a nervous smile.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered "As you know last nights homework was to bring in a tape from your childhood." He reminded and a few students groaned, having forgotten the task. Naruto grumbled, he'd gone home and asked Iruka for a tape but Iruka said that they didn't own any. Shikamaru shook his head and continued "I would like a volunteer demon to show their tape." He ordered boredly. Everyone looked at each other hesitantly and Shikamaru sighed again. "Troublesome. Neji you're up." He commanded, Neji nodded and grabbed a tape from his bag. Shikamaru took it and placed it in the video player. Shikamaru took a seat and pressed play on the remote.

-

A younger version of Neji flashed onto the screen and the class 'Awwwww'd'. Naruto noticed that he had short brown hair instead of the long locks he had now. A voice was talking.

"_So Neji, what is the best way to tap into your demonic chakra?" it asked and Neji looked to be thinking._

"_Uhm well Mummy says that the best way is to concentrate on the chakra points in my hands, because that's where most of my power comes out of." He said "But" he said and hesitated slightly "Shouldn't I concentrate on the chakra in my tummy because that's where all the power is made?" he questioned and the voice chuckled. A hand came into view and ruffled Neji's hair._

"_Well done Neji. That's exactly right." It said and Neji grinned._

"_Thanks Daddy. Can I try out that new move now?" Neji asked seriously and the camera shook slightly. Neji nodded and backed up slightly. He did a series of complicated fist strikes and finished it off with a small twirl. A light puff of purplish cloud came from his fists. The voice chuckled and Neji looked at the camera in disappointment. _

"_Well done Neji! It might not of done what you wanted it to do but at least your form is correct." He praised and Neji nodded and smiled a little. Suddenly another voice called._

"_Boys! Dinner time." And the screen went black._

-

Shikamaru nodded and looked at the room expectantly.

"Did all the demons in this class have a similar childhood?" he asked and the class nodded in surprise. Shikamaru nodded. "Now can I have a tape from a healer?" he asked and the girl with buns next to Sakura raised her hand. "Thank you Tenten." He said and took the tape held out to him. Just as Shikamaru was about to press play a soft knock came from the door. "Troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled "Come in." he called and the door opened to reveal the red-headed boy from this morning. Naruto lowered himself in his chair and blushed lightly. He noticed that the boy and Sasuke shared a small nod of greeting. The boy turned to address Shikamaru.

"I've come back from holidays." Was all he said in a deep monotone and walked towards his chair. As he passed Naruto he paused for a millisecond and surveyed the boy who was obviously blushing, with a smirk he took his seat. Shikamaru shrugged and pressed the play button.

-

_The screen wobbled minutely and focused on a small girl sitting on a beige lounge chair. It was a smaller version of Tenten and she even had miniature buns in her hair, giving her the impression of a mouse. The camera straightened and a woman walked on screen. Tenten glanced up and you could tell she was crying; she cradled something in her hands. _

"_Are you sure we can bring Kin-Chan back to life Mamma?" Tenten asked the woman and she nodded._

"_This only works on little creatures like insects and fish like Kin-Chan and only if they passed away recently." The woman confirmed. "Now I need you to focus your blue chakra in your hands Tenten." She instructed and Tenten's brow furrowed. A light blue glow began to shine around the golden fish in her hands and she smiled brightly. "Now imagine all of that chakra going into Kin-Chan and making her body come back to life." The woman whispered and slowly the glow began to form around the fish in Tenten's hands. Tenten let out a loud yelp when the fish suddenly began to flop around. She clenched her fist tightly but not enough to crush the fish and ran from the room with a giant grin on her face._

"_Thank you Mamma!!! Kin-Chan is better now!" she yelled and the woman smiled brightly and turned off the camera._

-

Shikamaru turned back to the class.

"Can you see a pattern here?" he asked and the room nodded. "Demons learnt of their powers from a very young age as did Healers. Now can I have a humans tape?" he asked and one of the humans raised her hand. Shikamaru nodded at her.

"I didn't bring a tape Shikamaru but wouldn't our videos be different because we don't have any powers?" she asked and Shikamaru nodded again.

"That's right. I was hoping you would notice that after seeing a tape but because no one brought a tape I guess we'll just…" He paused when Kiba suddenly popped up at the classroom door. "Can I help you?" he asked. Kiba grinned widely.

"You sure can! I have a tape from Naruto's childhood." He said grinning. Naruto frowned. Sasuke perked up, as well as the rest of the class.

"Didn't 'Ruka say we didn't have any tapes?" he questioned and Kiba nodded.

"Yeah but he felt bad so he went to Genma's house and dug up a tape." Kiba said while bouncing into the room. Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"I don't like how happy you are." He said suspiciously "What's on that tape?" he asked and Kiba laughed. He ignored Naruto and handed the tape to Shikamaru before running up and taking a seat beside him. Shikamaru shrugged and pressed play.

-

_The screen brightened and all they could see was a blonde blur. A male voice chuckled._

"_Whoops I think I have it on zoom." He said and the camera zoomed out to show a much younger version of Naruto. His blonde hair was shorter, only just covering his cheeks. A little nose could be seen and if you looked close enough you could make out something black on either cheek. Naruto was tilting his head to the side cutely._

-

The entire class erupted in giggles and praises.

"Awww Naruto you were sooo cute." He heard Sakura yell and he ducked his head shyly.

-

_Back on the video the man was saying something._

"_Aha! I can see you now Naru-Chan." The guy said. Naruto raised his hands up and giggled into them._

"_How are you Genma?" Naruto asked in a small feminine voice. Genma chuckled._

"_I'm fine kitten, how are you?" he asked and Naruto scowled._

"_Naruto's not a kitten Genma!" he admonished and folded his arms across his tiny chest. Genma laughed again._

"_Okay, okay let's go back to the lounge room." He suggested and Naruto nodded quickly. The camera followed a happily prancing Naruto and soon showed a large room with Iruka and a younger Kiba playing a board game. _

-

Naruto gasped loudly and turned to Kiba.

"You didn't!" he yelled and Kiba cackled. Naruto groaned and slammed his head against the desk. "You. Are. So. Dead." he growled out and Kiba nervously shifted away.

-

_Hey 'Ruka! Tell Genma I'm not a kitten!" Naruto shouted but before Iruka could say anything Kiba jumped up._

"_But you are a kitten!" he yelled and Naruto clenched his tiny fists._

"_AM NOT!" he yelled and Kiba shook his head._

"_Yeah you are! I heard Dad and Raido talking! Raido said that when you grow up your gonna be a sex kitten!" Kiba said triumphantly before frowning "But then Dad hit him. But still! Raido said it so you are!" he yelled and put his hands on his hips. Iruka paled and Genma started to laugh. Naruto walked up to Iruka._

"_Oh 'Ruka is it true? Am I really gonna be a sex kitten?" he asked innocently. Iruka paled more and suddenly fell over in a dead faint. Naruto freaked out and started to run around the room in circles. "Ahhhh 'Ruka is DEAD!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, he stopped in front of the body "Ruka why aren't you bleeding?" he asked innocently, he quickly turned to Kiba "Kiba I killed 'Ruka and he's not bleeding! Do you think he's a...ROBOT?!" Naruto yelled in fear and Kina shook his head._

"_Nah, if he was he'd be leaking oils and electricals." He said and Naruto relaxed "DAD!" Kiba yelled and poked Iruka with his foot. Iruka didn't stir "Yep you killed him." He said solemnly. "I guess we'll have to bury the body." He said and Naruto shook his head._

"_No, we have to bring him back to life!" Naruto shouted and raised a fist. Kiba grinned and started nodding but Naruto suddenly frowned "But I don't know how to do DVD." He said in disappointment. Just then the camera began to shake violently and Genma started to laugh hysterically. He set the camera down and a tall man with brown hair covered by a bandana walked over to the two boys. _

"_I think you mean CPR Naru." He said and Naruto shook his fist at him._

"_No I mean DVD!" he yelled then froze and smiled up at Genma. "Wait you're a big person you can give him LSD!" he exclaimed and Genma laughed again. He squatted beside Iruka and slapped him in the face and helped him sit up. Iruka swayed a little but finally focussed his eyes on Naruto and Kiba. They cheered loudly and both pounced on him._

"_Oh 'Ruka you were dead and then Genma gave STD to you and now you're alive again." Naruto shouted jubilantly and Iruka looked about to faint again._

"_It's okay Iruka, he means CPR." Genma said quickly and Iruka seemed better. Suddenly Naruto backed away from him._

"_Now that you're alive again does that make you a…" Naruto gulped and looked at Kiba. "ZOMBIE" they both screamed in unison. "Quick! Run before he gobbles the cable T.V." Naruto shouted and ran from the room. Kiba followed him quickly._

"_And eats your spleen! AHHHH!" Kiba yelled and ran._

_-_

Naruto groaned as the whole class erupted in bouts of laughter. Beside him Sasuke started chuckling and even the red-head seemed to be smiling slightly. Naruto braced himself for the jeers but was surprised when none came.

"Oh Naruto! You and Kiba were so cute!" Someone yelled from the front of the room.

"Ha-ha STD. That was classic." A boy chuckled from in front of Naruto. A slow smile spread across Naruto's face and soon he was laughing with the rest of the class happily. When the laughter had died down and Kiba had left the room with the tape, Shikamaru glanced up from his desk and yawned.

"Your next test is going to be on what diverse upbringings different species go through and how it ultimately effects their lives." He said and put his head to the desk, causing everyone to moan in disproval.

-------------------------

When the class finished Naruto was surprised to see the red-headed boy standing in front of his and Sasuke's desks. He glanced at Sasuke in question.

"Naruto this is Gaara." Sasuke said and gestured to the boy who smirked. "Gaara this is Naruto, he and his brother Kiba, the kid from before came while you were on holidays." He said and Gaara raised a brow at Sasuke's almost cheerful expression. He glanced between the two boys and frowned, _It looks as if Sasuke has claimed him as a mate_ he thought _but that doesn't mean I can't have him_ he smirked inwardly. Naruto gave him a shy wave and blushed.

"Ah so _you're _the fabled Gaara? Sorry about before." He said sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. Gaara nodded and they began walking to their next class.

"Don't worry about it, it was an accident." He said and gave Naruto a tiny smile. Sasuke narrowed his eyes _Why is Gaara smiling?_ He thought, scowling _surely he noticed that I have claimed Naruto_.

"What accident?" Sasuke asked and gave Gaara a warning glance. Gaara ignored him and Naruto turned to Sasuke.

"Before when I was coming back to English, I was running because I didn't want to get into trouble for being late and I ran into Gaara. I knocked him to the ground and landed on top of him." He said and Sasuke growled lowly. Naruto turned back to Gaara quickly. "That didn't hurt did it?" he asked worriedly and Gaara blinked.

"No, you're as light as a feather." He said and smirked. Naruto huffed and crossed his arms. _What's wrong?_ He thought _Gaara saw my face yet he doesn't seem to be reacting to it at all. He's being nice. I don't get it_. Sasuke scowled deeply and quickened his pace, pulling Naruto along by the sleeve. He saw Naruto's confused glance.

"We'll be late." He amended and Naruto nodded carefully. They took a final left and were soon in front of the gym. Gaara pushed open the doors and lead them over to the bleachers, were they took a seat with the rest of their friends. Gaara sat on one of Naruto's sides and Sasuke took the other. After the greetings were over Gaara turned to Naruto.

"So Naruto, where did you come from?" Gaara asked and Naruto turned to him with a giant grin.

"I moved here from Suna with Iruka and Kiba." He said and Gaara raised an eyebrow.

"I came from Suna as well." He mentioned and Naruto gasped and leaned towards him excitedly. Sasuke glared darkly and fought the urge to growl and pull Naruto to his chest.

"Really! That is so cool! What part of the city was your favourite? Mine was the park like two blocks down from the orphanage. Uhm I think it was called Sakura Park because of all the Sakura trees." He said quickly. Gaara was surprised and smiled lightly.

"Believe it or not that was my favourite place as well. Especially the part where there's that one really old Sakura tree next to the koi pond. I used to go there all the time." He said quietly and Naruto gasped.

"No way. That was my favourite part to. I used to go there every chance I could." He whispered and Gaara studied him carefully.

"Did you used to feed the koi fish with sesame bread?" he asked and Naruto nodded. Gaara looked shocked.

"How did you know?" Naruto asked in surprise. Gaara sat back.

"Sometimes when I went to visit them I used to see a small blonde kid feeding them. I would always wait until he left and when I went there, there was always some fresh sesame bread in the water." Gaara said in shock. Naruto gaped at him.

"I think that was me." He whispered. Gaara nodded slowly.

"I guess it is a small world after all." He offered and Naruto laughed lightly. Sasuke watched on in growing fury and was about to interrupt when he heard something weird.

"Gaara, why are you talking to me?" He heard Naruto ask. Gaara furrowed his brows.

"Is this about what I saw?" he questioned and Naruto nodded. "Naruto you have nothing to be ashamed about, for all its worth I think you're beautiful." He whispered and before he could question his words Naruto was hugging him tightly. Sasuke stared on in shock. Gaara had seen Naruto's face? Gaara had seen _his _Naruto's face _before_ Sasuke had? Sasuke couldn't take it anymore.

"Naruto!" he shouted and Naruto jumped off Gaara in surprise. He turned to Sasuke and cocked his head. Sasuke looked around desperately and said the first thing to pop into his head. "Gai's here." He said quickly. Luckily in Sasuke's case, at that very moment the gym doors burst open and Gai and Lee bounced through. Gaara glanced at Sasuke and smirked when he saw that Sasuke was fuming silently. Yes he and Sasuke were close friends but mates were for life and what must be done had to be done.

"LET THE POWER OF YOUTH EXPLODE!" Gai crowed and bounded to stand before his class. "Ah Lee you are bursting with youth this morning!" he cried, they both burst into tears and embraced tightly. Gai turned back to the class "Listen up my youthful students! Today we are going to practice our most youthful techniques! Remember, If you do not believe in yourself, hard work is useless!" he exclaimed and proceeded to split the class into separate species. The demons that were at their full potential practiced their most powerful moves and the demons yet to gain their powers practiced their form. Gai stood before Gaara and praised him as he sent large sand spikes at random targets around the room. Gai burst into tears and went to hug him but was stopped by a large sand wall. That didn't throw Gai off as he collapsed to his knees. "BEHOLD THE POWER OF YOUTH!" he cried and praised Gaara. The next demon was Lee. Gai instructed him to run to a certain point and back. Lee dashed off as a blur and Gai wipes tears away from his eyes. "That's it, Lee! Run...run towards the setting sun!! ...But don't mess up your hair!" he cried. Naruto watched on as the other demons practised their form in a series of punches and kicks. Gai called for a stop after thirty minutes. "Alright my beautiful youths, it is time for the Healers to show their power of youth and strong will of fire!" he cried and the Healers stepped up to the middle of the large room. On different tables were dead or seriously injured small animals in cages. Hinata stepped up to a table that had a bird with a broken wing. It hopped around the cage pitifully and Hinata stuck her hand through the door. Before the bird could react Hinata had it held carefully and her hands were glowing a bright purple colour. Within seconds the bird's wing was fully healed and it was flying around the cage happily. Tenten healed two bullfrogs close to death and Ino and Sakura worked as a team to bring a cage full of various insects back to life. When Naruto saw the insects chirping and fluttering around he froze in fear. Suddenly he was drawn into a warm embrace and looked up to find that Sasuke was hugging him. He smiled down at Naruto.

"It's okay Naru they're in cages and I promise that they won't hurt you." Sasuke said sincerely and Naruto thanked him. Sasuke walked back over to his allotted space and began to practice his fire summoning. Suddenly he was attacked by a giant wall of sand. He leapt out of the way and glared at Gaara.

"Sorry Sasuke, I didn't see you there." Gaara said and continued to make random statues out of his sand. Sasuke looked at him with a frown and turned back to his work. Finally Gai assigned the humans to work at a bunch of machines that built up their endurance and muscle development. Naruto noticed with a start that he didn't know any of these humans by name and that he only hung out with demons and healers.

"Look out Naruto!" he heard someone shout and turned to see a barrage of ink weapons flying towards him. He froze in fear and braced himself for the pain. When nothing happened he opened his eyes and saw that there was a large wall of sand standing tall before him. Slowly the sand fell away and Naruto saw that Gaara was standing with his arms raised and that Sasuke had Sai in a headlock. Gai bounded over to him and burst into tears.

"Naruto! I am so sorry! I was supposed to catch those weapons but I got distracted by Sasuke's show of youthful power!" Gai cried and grabbed onto Naruto's shoulders "Look deep into my eyes and accept my sincere apology! Also notice my handsome manly features." He cried and hugged Naruto tightly. Naruto struggled for air and was thankful when a tendril of sand pulled the two apart. He gave Gaara a thankful smile and started when the bell signalling the end of class sounded. He turned back to the tearful Gai.

"Uh, I accept your…youthful apology of youth and something about the will of fire…" Naruto mumbled and Gai cried out with joy.

"Oh thank you for your YOUTHFULLNESS Naruto! As punishment I will do 500 laps around the school…on my HANDS! Fear not Naruto for I will show you the power of YOUTH!" He shouted and bounded out the door. Lee followed him shouting about how cool he was. Gaara walked over to Naruto and looked him over for any injuries.

"Are you okay Naruto?" he questioned and Naruto chuckled and gave him a hug.

"Other then being mentally scarred, I'm fine. Thank you for everything Gaara." He replied with a giant grin. Sasuke stalked over angrily and they all walked outside. After saying their goodbyes Kiba and Naruto began to walk home. Naruto glanced up and saw a rather bloody and badly burnt Sai getting into a sleek black car gingerly. He smirked evilly and turned to Kiba to tell him about his day.

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And there we have it. Gaara has entered the scene and it seems he is not going to give up on Naruto without a fight. Fear not! for this is a Sasu/Naru fic. Thankyou to all the people reading this and i hope you all review! thankyou, until next time,

Your faithful Author,

Hotaru~

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	8. Chapter 7

**Hello! Thankyou for all the reviews! Relax! this is definantly a SASUNARU! In this edition of Fox Fire we finally see a little action between Naru and Sasuke. Sorry if it seems rushed, short or if there are any mistakes but i'm in a hurry because i have to film a Debutante Ball. Enjoy!**

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**~Chapter Seven~**

When Naruto opened the door to walk outside the next morning he was surprised to see Sasuke standing on the footpath. Naruto cheerfully ran up to him and tilted his head to the side.

"Good morning Sasuke! What are you doing here?" He asked joyfully and Sasuke smirked at him.

"I decided that I would walk you to school." He replied. _That way I can talk to him without Gaara being in the way_ he thought to himself. Naruto smiled again and they began to walk towards the school unhurriedly.

"How did you find out where I lived?" Naruto asked and Sasuke shrugged.

"Kiba invited me over yesterday while you and Iruka went to the optometrist." He said and Naruto felt a strange wave of anger wash over him. He huffed and crossed his arms. Sasuke saw his expression and couldn't help but smile smugly.

"What did you guys do?" Naruto asked tightly. Sasuke shrugged again and Naruto grew angrier.

"He showed me how to play a few games on his Playstation." Sasuke replied simply. Naruto whirled around and growled angrily.

"Why couldn't you come over when I was home? What's so special about Kiba? Are you _his_ best friend now?" he asked jealously. Sasuke smiled secretly and put his hands in the air in a gesture to placate Naruto.

"Whoa, calm down Naru. I don't like Kiba better then you; you're still my best friend. How about I come over this weekend and the two of us can hang out?" he asked and Naruto relaxed. He smiled brightly.

"Okay then!" He yelled happily, he stopped in thought for a second and turned to Sasuke "Wait. Did you just say that I was your best friend?" he asked. Sasuke nodded and faked a shy glance to the ground.

"Well, I feel way more comfortable around you then what I do with everyone else and you know the most about me out of all of our friends." He mumbled and was rewarded when Naruto pulled him into a hug.

"I feel comfortable around you too Sasuke!" He exclaimed and pulled away. "It's strange, I don't usually make friends this easily but I feel as if I've known you for a really long time." He said thoughtfully. Sasuke nodded.

"Me too." He replied and Naruto grinned.

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A week later found Sasuke waiting outside of Naruto's house, ready to walk him to school. Kiba slammed open the door and rushed out to the footpath.

"Hi Sasuke can't talk I'm late to walk Hinata bye." He shouted and he was gone. Sasuke chuckled and turned back towards the door just as Naruto opened it and stepped out. Sasuke immediately frowned; there was something different about Naruto's scent. Instead of the usual summery scent it was crisper, reminding Sasuke of the winter. Sasuke's frown deepened. _What's different? Why has Naruto's scent changed? _He thought worriedly. Naruto bounded over to him and the scent difference flew from Sasuke's mind.

"Good morning Naruto." He said smiling gently at him. Naruto beamed in return.

"Morning Sasuke." He grinned and they began walking towards school.

"Hey Naruto?" Sasuke asked and Naruto tilted his head in question. Sasuke took a deep breath and asked "Do you want to come over this weekend?" Naruto grinned and began to nod excitedly before he suddenly stopped.

"Oh Sasuke I would love to but I can't. Iruka's taking me to meet one of his old friends and Kiba's going to Shino's." Naruto looked guiltily towards the ground. Sasuke felt a wave of possessiveness crash over him and he grabbed Naruto's arm quickly.

"Who's house? Where is it? How long are you going to be there? Are you sure this guy is safe?" he questioned hastily. Naruto looked up at his and tilted his head. Sasuke could have sworn he saw a flicker of blue but in the next second it was gone.

"Are you okay Sasuke?" he asked worriedly. Sasuke nodded his head quickly and tried to fix his mistake.

"Yeah sorry I guess I just got a bit worried is all." He said slowly. Naruto nodded.

"Don't worry about it. I'm positive Iruka wouldn't take me to a creepy person's house. It's gonna be fine and I'll see you on Monday okay?" he asked biting his lip. Sasuke just nodded dumbly and focussed all his attention on Naruto's mouth. He slowly began to lean forward when Naruto suddenly cursed.

"Shit we're going to be late." He yelled, he slipped his hand into Sasuke's and began to run in the direction of the school. Sasuke silently thanked whatever gods were out there for the distraction.

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Naruto huffed as he sat down in Maths and Gaara looked at him in question. Naruto smiled.

"Ah music can get really tiering when the teacher is trying to get you to learn two instruments at once." He explained and Gaara nodded.

"Alright listen up!" Their Maths teacher Asuma shouted from the front of the room. "We're just going over the last chapter this lesson because I have a huge headache." He instructed and collapsed in his chair. Naruto opened his textbook and began to quickly read through the last chapter. Ten minutes into the class he was finished and was watching as Asuma put another nicotine patch on his bicep. Suddenly Naruto felt something nudge his arm and looked over questioningly to Gaara.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to come over my house this weekend?" he asked and Naruto smiled apologetically.

"Sorry Gaara I would love to but Iruka's taking me to meet an old friend of his this weekend." He said "Maybe I could come over one afternoon during the week?" he suggested. Gaara gave a curt nod and returned to his work. Naruto turned to the front just in time to see Asuma put another patch on his arm. _Well I seem to be popular today_ he thought smugly and began to examine the initials carved into his desk.

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Naruto waved vigorously to his friends and wished them all a good weekend before climbing into the car with Iruka.

"How was your day Naru?" Iruka asked. Naruto looked up at him and gave him his foxy grin.

"It was pretty good for a school day 'Ruka, I think I did pretty well on my biology test." He grinned and turned towards the window to watch the scenery flow past. _Who knew watching Sasori skin animals would give you so much knowledge?_ he thought.

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Naruto and Iruka walked up to the front stoop of a large house. _More like a mansion_ Naruto thought bitterly. He looked around at the beautiful gardens and sighed jealously. The door opening brought Naruto's attention back to the house before him and he turned around to see a tall man with gravity defying silver hair standing at the doorway. His one uncovered grey eye twinkled merrily at him and Naruto guessed that he was smiling beneath the mask he wore over the lower half of his face. Naruto couldn't help the niggling sensation that he had met the guy before.

"Good afternoon Iruka and you must be Naruto. My name is Kakashi; it's nice to meet you." He said merrily and gestured them inside the house. Naruto nodded at him and glanced around in wonder at the lavishly decorated home. Kakashi led them down a dimly lit corridor and directed them into an equally dim dining room. Naruto took in the redwood table and the matching chairs that surrounded it. Fine china and silverware were placed on the table and Naruto was surprised to see that it was set for four. He briefly wondered who the fourth person was and looked around the room at the paintings hanging from the walls.

"We have company Sass come downstairs for dinner." He heard Kakashi call up the staircase. He returned to the dining room and gestured for Naruto and Iruka to take a seat at the table. Naruto noticed that he was placed next to the mysterious Sass. Just then the doors opened and a few maids came in and dished out dinner. Naruto stared in amazement and his mouth watered when he saw that his dish was a large bowl of pork ramen.

"Kakashi you didn't tell me we were having gue-" he heard a familiar voice stutter to a stop from his right. He glanced up to see Sasuke standing in the hallway with an astounded look on his face. Sasuke was wearing black jeans and a tight deep red t-shirt. Naruto quickly glanced away when he realized he was staring and was shocked to find that he was blushing deeply, he looked up and was surprised to see Iruka smirking at him knowingly.

Sasuke felt a gentle smile fall across his face when he sensed that his mate to be was blushing, he glanced triumphantly at Kakashi and they shared a knowing look. Even if Naruto didn't realize it, he was definitely starting to develop feelings for Sasuke. _Ah_ he thought _So this is the mysterious friend Iruka was taking Naruto to meet_. He sauntered over to the table and took the seat beside Naruto.

"Hello Naruto." He greeted "I guess you came to my house anyway hey?" Naruto finally regained his composure and grinned merrily back at Sasuke with a nod.

"Wait you boys already know each other?" Iruka asked in surprise. _Maybe I miscalculated Sasuke's abilities? _He questioned himself. Naruto turned to him and nodded.

"Yeah we're in mostly all the same classes and I guess that Sasuke's like my best friend." Naruto said quickly glancing over at Sasuke to gauge his reaction. When he saw Sasuke's bigger then usual smile he relaxed. Iruka gaped at Sasuke, _Yes definitely miscalculated his abilities_. He thought.

"What about Kiba, Naruto?" he asked curiously. Naruto looked to be thinking deeply.

"Well Kiba's my brother and I know I can always talk to him but lately he's been hanging out with Hinata and Shino more. So I guess we're still really good friends. Just not best friends." He said nodding. Iruka smiled at him and shared a look with Sasuke, silently congratulating him. After that the conversation flowed between them and dinner was quickly finished. Naruto looked between Sasuke and Kakashi and just couldn't see the family resemblance between the two.

"Is Kakashi your Dad?" He asked Sasuke innocently. He noticed Sasuke stiffen slightly and wondered if he had said something wrong. He was about to tell Sasuke not to worry about it when Kakashi spoke up.

"Sasuke's parents died when he was ten Naruto. I adopted him and I like to think of myself as his father." He said cheerfully although he was glancing worriedly at Sasuke. Naruto frowned and suddenly grasped Sasuke's hand under the table. Sasuke instantly relaxed and all thoughts of murdering his brother flew from his mind.

"I'm sorry Sasuke." He whispered "If it makes you feel any better my parents died as well and Iruka adopted me." Sasuke looked up at Naruto and smiled gently.

"Thanks Naru." He whispered in return but noticed that Naruto wasn't paying attention. "Naruto?" he called and was shocked when Naruto abruptly turned to Kakashi.

"I _knew _I remembered you from somewhere." He shouted pointing a finger at Kakashi. Kakashi looked shocked as did Iruka and Sasuke. "You're the guy that saved us from the orphanage aren't you? You were the child worker that freed us all and I got Iruka, I know it was you because no one else would have that hair and that mask." He said defiantly. Sasuke looked at Naruto in surprise. _Since when was Kakashi a social worker? And more importantly Naruto's orphanage treated him horribly?_ He thought, feeling the anger and protectiveness rise from the pit of his stomach. Suddenly Kakashi was on the floor with an ecstatic Naruto hugging him frantically. Sasuke growled deeply, feeling that his dominant position over Naruto was being challenged. Kakashi's eyes widened when he realized that Naruto was crying.

"I never got a chance to thank you." Naruto sobbed and everyone in the rooms heart's clenched tightly "Thank you so much Kakashi, I don't know where I would be if it wasn't for you. Thank you so much for saving me from that horrible place." Kakashi wiped the tears from Naruto's eyes gently.

"I'm glad I got you out too." He wanted to say more but was starting to get fearful of Sasuke, whose eyes were blazing the Sharingan full power and looked about ready to pounce. He pulled Naruto and himself up from the ground carefully and gave Naruto a pat on the head, smiling cheerfully. Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes quickly and hugged Kakashi again. Sasuke growled warningly and Kakashi quickly let Naruto go. _Okay maybe the whole teasing Sasuke thing wasn't such a good idea_ Kakashi thought fearfully, eying the fangs beginning to show past Sasuke's lips. He stepped away and raised his hands peacefully. Sasuke grabbed Naruto quickly.

"Come on Naruto let me show you the house." He said tersely and dragged Naruto from the room. Kakashi and Iruka both shared equally large grins before heading in the direction of the study.

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Naruto followed Sasuke obediently up the stairs and Sasuke couldn't help but smirk. Naruto was unconsciously displaying himself as the submissive of the two. Sasuke opened the last door in the hallway and showed Naruto in.

"And finally, this is my bedroom." He gestured. Naruto gaped when he saw the inside. Sasuke's walls were a deep blue colour. The carpet was a dark grey and the streetlight was shut out by heavy black drapes. Naruto wandered over to Sasuke's desk top and took in the sleek black laptop surrounded by textbooks and loose sheets of paper. He walked over to Sasuke's bookcase next and ran a finger along the spines of the books; some of them looked to be so old that if they were opened they were likely to fall apart. Positioned next to the bookcase was a black suede three seater couch. Naruto turned and looked at the huge king size bed taking up the other side of the room. He took one look at the impeccably straight black silk doona and the perfectly placed pillows and dived for the bed. He bounced twice and settled in the centre, messing up the blanket and pillows. He smiled up at Sasuke.

"It was too neat." He said sheepishly "It's so big and comfy." He continued, snuggling cutely into the pillows. Sasuke's instincts screamed at him to take the blonde boy then and there but he refrained from doing so, knowing that Naruto wouldn't comply. He smirked on the inside and thought that now was the perfect time to begin the courting process. He closed his eyes in concentration and carefully released his pheromones into the air. He looked over to Naruto just as the boy took a deep breath.

"Hey Sasuke what's that smell?" he asked in confusion. Sasuke was surprised that Naruto could smell anything. Demon pheromones were almost undetectable to the human nose. "It's nice, kind of like the smell of the mist from a waterfall. Or maybe it's fresh rain?" He murmured quietly "I like it." Sasuke smiled proudly.

"Oh that's probably just my cologne." Sasuke answered uninterestedly. He walked over to the bed and lay down beside Naruto. "So Naruto, do you like anyone at school?" he asked inconspicuously, he frowned deeply when a picture of Gaara came unbidden to his mind. Naruto furrowed his brows and shook his head.

"Nope." He said before breathing in deeply again. He unconsciously leaned closer to Sasuke and asked "Why?"

"No reason." Sasuke smirked, carefully increasing the amount of pheromones he released into the air "What about Sakura? You guys seem pretty close. Or maybe Gaara?" He asked hiding the disgust in his voice. Naruto looked up in surprised.

"No way, she's more like a sister to me. And Gaara's like a brother." Naruto said smiling. Sasuke looked on happily and hid a grin. Naruto looked down at his fingers and scooted closer. "I don't think I've ever liked anyone." He paused, thinking "Ever." He said disbelief in his voice. He looked up at Sasuke "Does that mean there's something wrong with me?" He asked sadly. Sasuke shook his head frantically.

"No, no it just means that you haven't found the right person." Inwardly Sasuke was doing a victory dance. _He's never liked anyone before!_ He shouted _That means my Naruto has never been touched, he's going to be mine and mine only._ Sasuke came back into the present and let out more potent pheromones. Naruto took another deep breath and looked up into Sasuke's eyes.

"But you know Sasuke…" he said, leaning closer "I think that I might…" their lips were only inches apart "I might li-" suddenly the door was slammed open causing Naruto to squeak cutely and tumble off the bed. He looked up in confusion as Kakashi looked into the room. Sasuke could only guess that he was smirking underneath that mask.

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_Earlier downstairs_

"Kakashi do you smell that?" Iruka asked, glancing up from the novel he was reading. Kakashi sniffed the air lightly.

"Well I'll be damned." He said disbelievingly "That's Sasuke's pheromones." Iruka looked up sharply.

"You don't think they're actually…" Iruka left the question hanging. Kakashi grinned lecherously beneath his mask.

"There's only one way to find out." He said cheerfully. _Hmm maybe I can tease him just this once_ he thought deviously.

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"Oh hey Naruto what are you doing on the floor?" Kakashi asked, faking innocence. Naruto looked up at him and blushed so deeply Kakashi could see it through his hair. "Don't worry; Iruka says it's time to go. So when you're ready come downstairs." he said, what appeared to be winking at Sasuke. Naruto frowned at himself. _Was I really going to say that to Sasuke?_ He questioned himself.

Sasuke scowled deeply at Kakashi and climbed off the bed to help Naruto to his feet, Kakashi waved cheerfully and left the room. Naruto's blush increased when Sasuke grabbed his hand and went to pull him up but Sasuke used too much strength and suddenly Naruto was lying on Sasuke's chest. Sasuke revelled in the boy's heat and was shocked when he felt his growing arousal. Naruto sat up quickly and unfortunately rubbed up against the growing bludge in Sasuke's pants. Sasuke moaned softly and Naruto leapt of him quickly, thinking that he had hurt him. Sasuke used his usually excellent control to quash his arousal away for later. He walked over to Naruto and gave him a hug.

"Bye Naruto. I'll see you at school on Monday okay?" he asked. Naruto sighed in relief. _Thank god,_ he thought _Sasuke either doesn't care or didn't notice. _Naruto returned the hug tightly.

"Bye 'Suke. See you Monday." he said before walking out the door. Sasuke smiled after him then frowned deeply. _Someone is going to die,_ he thought evilly.

Downstairs Kakashi sneezed lightly before closing the door behind Iruka and Naruto. _Why do I feel the urge to hide in a cave for a few months?_ He wondered.

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And that's it! Farewell my dears!

Hotaru~

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	9. Chapter 8

**~Chapter Eight~**

Monday morning rolled around, the sky was bright, the weather was perfect and the animals were in abundance. It was lunch time at Konoha High School and the grounds were drenched in a peaceful silence.

"Why you little...OI get back here!" Sakura shrieked and started to chase Naruto around the birch tree. He giggled in return and stuck his tongue out at her. She growled in rage and stepped up her pace in hopes of catching him. He skirted her effortlessly and ran to hide behind Sasuke. Just as he was about to dive behind Sasuke a tendril of sand swept him up and placed him high in the tree. Sasuke growled and turned to glare at Gaara, who had that infuriating smug smirk on his face. He whirled around when he heard Naruto giggle again.

"Thanks Gaa-Chan!" he yelled and held his hand up in a peace sign. Gaara nodded and turned back to his conversation with Neji. Sasuke frowned and his fingers twitched with the urge to wrap themselves around Gaara's neck. _Every _time Sasuke got even slightly close to Naruto, Gaara was always there to step in the way.

"You think a tree can save you!?" Sakura yelled and folded her hands together. Soon they began to glow an eerie pink and Naruto gulped loudly. The group watched on as Sakura sent out a small bubble of chakra that completely surrounded Naruto and brought him down to ground level. Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and tried to grin apologetically at Sakura as she released the bubble. Sakura cracked her knuckles threateningly and began to stalk towards him slowly. Sasuke shook his head and turned to Sakura.

"Listen Saku-" he started but was cut off by a wave of sand. It surrounded Sakura and stopped her from advancing further. Gaara swept past Sasuke, whose eyes were beginning to flood into a burning red colour.

"Cool it Sakura. It was a harmless prank." He said calmly and Sakura turned to him.

"Harmless prank!?! He switched my make-up with paint!" she exclaimed and Gaara shrugged.

"Won't it last longer now?" he asked. Sakura gaped at him.

"Well, yes but that's not the point! I didn't even realise until Ino pointed it out to me!" she said incredulously. "Wait, wow Naruto that was a kick ass prank! You got me good!" she congratulated and Naruto grinned widely. Just as the bell rang Naruto giggled and ran up to Gaara. With a single leap Naruto landed on Gaara's back and wrapped his legs around Gaara's waist tightly.

"Thanks Gaara! Now onwards to our last class!" he exclaimed with a flourish and pointed towards the school. Gaara chuckled and adjusted Naruto on his back before walking towards the building. "I can't wait until after Gym! I'm really excited about coming to your house!" Naruto said excitedly. Sasuke growled fiercely and fighting for control walked after the group in fury. Left in his wake was a trail of footprint sized burn marks in the grass.

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The group walked into the Gym room to find it set up with mats, they walked over to one and examined it carefully.

"D-do you think Gai's going to teach us to kick-box?" Hinata asked and Sakura turned to her.

"I sure hope not! I don't want to mess up my hair!" she exclaimed in a false high voice. They both giggled and stopped when they felt a chakra spike; it was dangerously high. They spun around to see Gaara ruffling Naruto's hair affectionately and Naruto grinning widely. They glanced over in time to see Sasuke's eyes flare dangerously. Before either could blink Sasuke had Gaara pinned up against the wall.

"I have had enough Gaara." Sasuke whispered quietly. Gaara cocked an eyebrow elegantly. Sasuke growled loudly and bashed Gaara into the wall harshly. "You know exactly what I'm talking about Gaara. I had chosen Naruto to be my mate before you. He is mine." He growled possessively and tightened his grip on Gaara's shirt.

"Last time I checked Naruto hasn't been claimed yet." Gaara whispered provocatively. Something deep inside Sasuke snapped and the shirt fisted in his hands caught on fire. Gaara's eyes widened minutely before a wall of sand sent Sasuke skidding across the Gym floor. With a roar war was declared. As the boys ran at each other Ino, Sasuke, Tenten and Hinata grabbed all the people in the room and built up a magical wall; shielding them from the raging demon's attacks.

Gaara dodged to the left and quickly sent out small tendrils of sand towards Sasuke. Sasuke launched another fire attack and didn't notice the sand creeping towards him. Suddenly there were two sand clones standing before Sasuke and they both attacked him with hardened sand. Sasuke ducked low and kicked the clone's legs out from under them, resulting in them diminishing. Sasuke started to build up a large amount of chakra in his chest as he continued to dodge the sand being sent at him at high speed. All of a sudden Sasuke stumbled and noticed with a start that he couldn't move his feet. He looked down in shock to see that Gaara's sand had begun to twine up his legs. _Why that little sneak!_ He thought angrily and without a seconds hesitation released a wave of fire from his mouth. In Gaara's hast to send up a wall of sand to protect him, he lost his control over the sand surrounding Sasuke's thighs. It fell uselessly to the ground and Sasuke began to run towards Gaara. A resounding bang filled the room as the Gym doors were thrown open and Gai, followed by Lee dashed in.

"My YOUTHFULL students! To-" Gai cut himself of when he noticed that the majority of his students were cowering behind a wall of magic and that two held each other in a death grip. In a flash he disappeared and reappeared between the two boys holding each of them apart. "Gaara. Sasuke. This is unacceptable." Gai said in an eerily serious voice. He glared at the two harshly. "You know my rules. Out. The both of you and don't come back. If I find out you continued this fight there will be dire consequences." He said fiercely. Sasuke ripped himself from Gai's grasp and stalked angrily out the door. Gaara calmly walked out after him and with a sigh the magic wall was dropped. Gai turned back to the class and beamed widely. "Today we will be learning the wonderfully youthful sport of wrestling!" he declared and pumped his fist into the air. Naruto looked sadly at the door before he was tackled into the embrace of Lee.

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When class was over Naruto said his goodbyes and hurried away from the Gym. As soon as he reached the parking lot he looked around frantically for any sign of Sasuke. When he couldn't see tail or head of the boy he sighed sadly and walked over to the bicycle rack. Not long after, he saw Gaara walking towards him. He smiled tightly at him.

"Hi Gaara, what was that fight about?" he asked immediately. Gaara frowned and looked away.

"Don't worry about it Naruto. Sasuke and I are just having a disagreement." He said and Naruto frowned.

"Okay I guess. I hope you sort it out soon." He said encouragingly and gave Gaara a large smile. Gaara smirked in return _Oh yes Naruto this will be sorted soon_ he thought _very soon_.

"Come on Naruto lets go." He said and began to walk towards his house; Naruto trailing along beside him.

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Naruto stared up in wonder at Gaara's house. It was very plain yet had a homey feel about it. As they walked up the stone path towards the door Naruto glanced at the colourful gardens dotting the yard. Gaara noticed his look and smiled a little.

"My sister Temari enjoys gardening." He explained and Naruto nodded with a smile. Gaara knocked on the door and waited patiently for his sister to answer the door. Naruto watched on when the door was opened by a beautiful woman, whose blonde hair was done up in four separate pigtails and was wearing a fluffy pink apron. She smiled warmly at Gaara and ran her black eyes over Naruto interestedly. Naruto blushed at the scrutiny and the woman smiled gently.

"Who's this Gaara?" she questioned and gestured towards Naruto.

"This is Naruto Uzumaki, Naruto this is my older sister Temari." Gaara introduced and Temari smiled again.

"Nice to meet you Naruto! You wouldn't happen to be a cookie fan would you?" she asked teasingly and Naruto's eyes grew wide.

"Cookies?" he questioned cutely and Temari giggled.

"Yep I just made a batch of my famous peanut butter with-"

"Chocolate chips?" Naruto finished eagerly and Temari gazed wide eyed.

"How did you know!? We are so going to get along just fine!" she exclaimed and pulled Naruto into the house. She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the kitchen, pointing out the other rooms along the way. They both stopped in front of a large plate of steaming cookies and Gaara could just imagine Naruto's innocent blue eyes growing large. Naruto tentatively raised a hand towards the cookies and on Temari's cue grabbed one carefully. He brought it to his lips slowly and took a small bite. He moaned loudly in pleasure and Gaara almost dropped his bag in shock. He smiled lecherously at Naruto and made to grab him but was stopped by a mad scramble of footsteps. He turned around just in time to witness his brother trip through the kitchen doorway.

"Temari you made cookies?!" he exclaimed and made a mad grab for the cookie plate. He stuffed a couple in his mouth and swallowed them quickly. Naruto glanced up from where he was engrossed by the cookie only to drop it in shock.

"YOU!" he screamed and pointed his finger at the kitty-eared black beanie wearing kid. Kankuro looked up from his cookie in shock and caught sight of Naruto.

"ME!" he yelled and smiled widely. Naruto giggled and launched himself at Kankuro, completely ignoring Gaara and Temari. Both boys hugged tightly and Kankuro pulled back "How did it go?!" he half yelled, half asked. Naruto giggled happily and bounced up and down on the spot.

"IT WAS SO COOL!" he yelled "Kiba got in without a hitch with that password you gave him and I managed to dye the water in record time." He said excitedly and Gaara lifted an eyebrow.

"What are you guys talk-" he started to ask but was interrupted.

"AWESOME!" Kankuro shouted and pumped his fist into the air. "Did you get caught?" he questioned. Gaara narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth again but was cut off.

"Kankuro you wound me! As if I would ever get caught!" Naruto said in mock hurt. Kankuro laughed and clapped him on the back. "We got pictures too! Man it was so good, the entire school looked like a bunch of broccoli! And then-" Gaara glared heavily and inconspicuously knocked the plate of cookies from the bench. Both boys froze immediately and Gaara nodded smugly. He was about to repeat his question when he was cut off _again_.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the boys screamed and dropped to their knees in despair.

"The cookies!" Temari yelled and dived to the ground in hopes of saving a couple. Gaara watched on incredulously as Naruto and Kankuro appeared to be crying and wishing the cookies a happy afterlife. He cleared his throat loudly and everyone looked at him in surprise. Naruto blushed and rose to his feet. He brushed the cookie crumbs from his clothes and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Eh heh, sorry about that Gaara, I forgot you were there." He said and Gaara narrowed his eyes. "Oh yeah! Uhm before you came back from holidays me and Kiba planned this really big prank. Kiba has the same Art class with Kankuro and he told Kiba how to hack into the school system. Long story short half the school ended up died entirely green." He explained and Gaara nodded slowly. _Aren't pranks a little…childish?_ Gaara questioned in disappointment.

"Oh, cool." He said uncomfortably. Naruto cocked his head to the side in question.

"Yeah. So what are we going to do?" he asked and Gaara shook his head.

"Ah, I was thinking a movie?" he questioned and Naruto grinned brightly.

"Sure!" he exclaimed and Gaara led him into the lounge room. Naruto turned around quickly and yelled a quick 'thank you' to Temari. They settled down on a large beige lounge together and Gaara pulled a rack of DVDs towards them. He frowned in disappointment when Naruto passed over all his favourite movies and settled on a stupid comedy. "Is this one okay?" Naruto asked and Gaara smiled tightly and nodded. Gaara stood and put the DVD in the player, when he sat down he mentally prepared himself for an hour and a half of what for him would be torture. About halfway through the movie Gaara was practically foaming at the mouth and Naruto was rolling around on the lounge in laughter. Kankuro bounded into the room and fell over the back of the couch to sit beside Naruto. He frowned when he noticed the movie and turned to Gaara.

"Yo, Gaara, I thought you hated this movie?" he asked and Naruto looked at him.

"If you don't like it Gaara we can change it." He suggested and Gaara shook his head.

"It's okay. There's not much left anyway." He said. Naruto and Kankuro shrugged and turned back to the movie. At the same time the two burst out in laughter when a man tripped down some stairs and Gaara frowned again. _I didn't realise that Naruto was this…immature_ he thought with a scowl. When the movie had finished Kankuro tripped up the stairs with the excuse that he had to develop some new software and Gaara led Naruto to his room. Upon entering Naruto looked around the room in shock. The entire room was black, there were no light colours whatsoever and Gaara was missing a bed. Instead he had a large black psychiatrist's style lounge. Gaara led them over to the lounge and motioned for Naruto to take a seat. Suddenly Naruto felt really uncomfortable and shifted his eyes around the room nervously. Gaara on the other hand was beginning to feel unsure about Naruto being his mate; he decided to continue on with his plan anyway. Carefully he released his pheromones into the air and waited for them to take their effect. Almost immediately Naruto wrinkled his nose.

"Hey Gaara? What's that smell?" he questioned and Gaara frowned.

"What smell?" he asked and Naruto pinched his nose.

"I don't know but it smells like rotting fruit." He said. Gaara frowned deeper and released more pheromones into the air. Naruto recoiled in disgust. "Wow, it just got worse." He whispered and started to change a sickly green colour. Gaara immediately pulled his pheromones back and Naruto relaxed instantly. "It's gone." He said in relief and shifted in his seat. Gaara scowled _That's strange, he should find my scent irresistible _he thought in confusion.

"Hey Naruto?" he asked and Naruto titled his head to the side. "You know I think you're beautiful right?" he questioned and Naruto nodded slowly, feeling more and more uncomfortable by the second. Gaara leaned towards him slightly and pressed his lips against his in a kiss. Naruto gasped and pulled back, quickly placing his hand over his mouth. Gaara frowned. He had felt…nothing, no fireworks, no corny lightning running through his body and definitely no sense of completeness. And strangely Gaara found that he didn't even care in the slightest. Naruto stood quickly and started to back away. Gaara glanced up "Wait!" he said urgently and Naruto paused.

"W-What the h-hell was that Gaara?!" he cried and Gaara stood up as well.

"I'm sorry Naruto." He said quickly and Naruto frowned at him.

"Explain yourself right now." He demanded angrily and Gaara lowered his head in shame.

"That day when I saw you I thought that you were destined to be my mate." He whispered and Naruto stilled "But now when I kissed you I didn't feel anything…and that's weird. I…don't know what else to say. I guess it was just fascination and not love." He said in confusion and Naruto softened.

"Gaara." He whispered and used his hand to lift Gaara's head "I have no feelings towards you besides feeling as if you're my brother. But while I don't have those feelings for you I know that one day you're mate will make themselves known to you. You _will_ find someone Gaara." He said sweetly and Gaara smiled at him gently.

"Thank you Naruto." He said and hugged Naruto carefully "Again, I'm terribly sorry and I hope that nothing changes between us." He half said and half asked. Naruto smiled at him and laughed lightly.

"No worries Gaara but please next time you're going to do something like that please ask because-" Suddenly Naruto clapped his hand to his mouth again "Oh my god! GAARA!" he whined and hit Gaara on the arm weakly. "That was my first kiss!" he half shouted. Gaara stilled.

"Oh, now I am really, really sorry!" he said urgently and Naruto shrugged weakly before freezing again.

"Ah! Don't tell Sasuke!" he yelled and grabbed onto Gaara's shoulders. He frowned _Wait why don't I want Sasuke to know?_ He questioned himself. Gaara smirked knowingly.

"I promise not to tell Sasuke." He said sincerely and Naruto nodded.

"Ah, so what should we do now? I don't have to be home for another two hours." Naruto asked and Gaara furrowed his brow.

"We can play Kankuro's Playstation?" he suggested and a huge grin spread across Naruto's face.

"I am so gonna kick your butt at Halo." He declared and ran from the room. Gaara smiled and followed him slowly. _Well I guess this 'fight' between Sasuke and I has been sorted out_ he thought.

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Kakashi grabbed the phone just as it entered its fifth ring.

"Yo." He greeted when he put it beside his ear.

"Hello Kakashi, its Iruka." He heard Iruka's voice say from the other end of the line.

"Why hello there Iruka! What's up?" he asked.

"I just wanted to tell you that I think Sasuke's doing a really good job with the courting process. When Naruto comes home from school every conversation seemingly turns to Sasuke." He said and Kakashi chuckled.

"I always knew Sasuke would be able to pull it off!" he said triumphantly then furrowed his brows. "I'm a little worried about this Friday though." He said. He heard Iruka take in a shaky breath.

"As am I, I just hope it all goes well." He said then gasped "Did you know that Gaara was also after Naruto?" he asked and Kakashi sat up quickly in his chair. _Ah, that would explain why Sasuke destroyed half of the house yesterday_ he thought.

"Really? How did that go?" he asked.

"Naruto told me that Gaara kissed him and explained that he was attracted to him. Apparently Gaara didn't feel anything from the kiss though so they're back to being friends." Iruka explained and Kakashi relaxed.

"Thank god for that!" he exclaimed.

"I have to go now Kakashi. Dinner's ready to be served." Iruka said and they bid good bye before hanging up. With a sigh Kakashi reached into his pocket to pull out his favourite book. He gasped loudly when he didn't feel the familiar shape and began to pat his body in desperation. Just then he remembered what Sasuke had done to his beloved collection. His eyes began to well with tears as an image of the burning books filled his mind once more. He collapsed to the ground and curled up into the foetal position in anguish. He was still there when Sasuke found him three hours later.

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Sasuke was stiff as he walked into the school grounds that morning. He glared harshly at Gaara when he saw him and Naruto standing side by side at the birch tree. Gaara glanced up and saw Sasuke approaching with the Sharingan at full power. He sighed and walked forward to meet him halfway. Before Sasuke could say or do anything Gaara was walking passed him uninterestedly.

"He's all yours." He heard Gaara say and instantly relaxed. He turned around to stare after him in confusion. He sensed Naruto running towards him and spun around to face him. Just as Naruto launched himself into the air Sasuke caught him effortlessly and spun him a round in a small circle. Naruto blushed deeply and hugged Sasuke tightly when he was set down. Neither noticed the huge smiles on their faces as they walked towards their first class.


	10. Chapter 9

**~Chapter Nine~**

Naruto walked into the Gym on Thursday morning and took his usual seat on the bleachers next to Sasuke.

"Morning 'Suke." He said cheerfully and gave him a big grin. When Sasuke smiled in return, Naruto was confused to feel butterflies come from nowhere and start tickling his insides.

"Good Morning Naru." Sasuke replied. He looked over Naruto's shoulder and saw that Sai was looking at Naruto with a glare on his face. Sasuke inwardly hissed and began to send out waves of killer intent. The other demons in the class looked up warily and all looked away quickly except for Sai, who smirked. Sasuke took this as a challenge and went to stand up when Naruto suddenly waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hello? I've been calling your name for ages now. Why were you randomly glaring in that direction?" Naruto asked tilting his head to the side in question. Sasuke instantly relaxed and smiled gently.

"Just thinking about Itachi." He lied quickly. He was rewarded when Naruto grabbed his hand and began unknowingly rubbing it sensually. Sasuke still remembered the day he had told Naruto his family history.

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Flashback time!

_Naruto was lying on Sasuke's bed watching him read a book when he suddenly sat up and looked at Sasuke with his head tilted to the side._

"_Sasuke if you don't mind me asking but how did your parents die?" Naruto asked innocently. Sasuke stiffened at the mention of his parents and contemplated on the best way to explain what Itachi had done. He motioned for Naruto to lie back down and put his book on the bedside table._

"_I was ten years old when it happened." He began slowly and Naruto scooted closer "I'd just gotten back from school and was really excited about telling my mother that I'd aced my latest test. I remember knowing something was wrong as soon as I stepped foot into the house." Naruto grabbed his hand and began rubbing reassuring circles into it "My mother was hosting the annual family reunion so everyone was staying at our house, there were about forty-five adults and twenty or so children ranging from seven to fourteen years old. I went to the kitchen first and was surprised that it wasn't crowded with people and that my mother didn't have my regular snack for me. I remember hearing a strange noise coming from the back yard, so being the curious child I was I went to investigate." By now Sasuke's voice was a monotone and he'd wiped all emotion from his eyes "It was horrible Naruto. Every single person in my family was lying dead on the ground and there in the middle of it all was my sixteen year old brother Itachi. He'd killed every single one of them." He looked down. "They took him to the mental institution and Kakashi was the one to adopt me. Kakashi insists that it wasn't Itachi's fault and that he went mad with his demon powers. So every now and then he makes me go visit him. I've wanted to kill him ever since." Sasuke finished and was surprised to find that somewhere through the retelling he'd ended up cradled in Naruto's arms. He sighed and buried his head deeper into Naruto's baggy shirt, ashamed that he was the one being comforted by his mate to be. He looked up sharply when he heard Naruto sniffle and was surprised to see tears falling from Naruto's chin. "Why are you crying Naruto? I'm fine." He asked weakly, hating seeing his beloved cry. _

_Naruto nuzzled Sasuke's neck and Sasuke was surprised by the action yet it sent shivers up his spine and warmth settled in his chest. "Sometimes it's alright to cry Sasuke." He heard Naruto whisper and felt the vibrations from his voice go through his heart. Naruto cradled Sasuke to his chest again and started stroking Sasuke's hair all the while whispering sweet reassurances into his ear. And suddenly Sasuke was crying for the first time in six years; not only for his deceased parents and relatives but for himself._

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Sasuke immediately felt guilty for lying to Naruto and shook his head.

"Don't worry Naru I've forgotten it already." He said gently and smiled. Suddenly the Gym doors slammed open and Gai quickly followed by Lee came flying in.

"GOOD MORNING YOUTHS!!!" he shouted cheerfully and Naruto could just imagine the sparkles coming from his teeth. This caused him to giggle cutely and Sasuke to smile at him. "Today we are going to test our most youthful kick-boxing skills. I know we have only been learning these for a few days, but I want to see how much you have taken in. Today my students of youth we will test the will of fire!" He cried, sending Lee into inspirational tears. "Now who will go against whom today in this mighty test of strength and youth?" He asked with a pose. Sai instantly put his hand up.

"Gai! I'm going with Naruto first up, no matter what!" He shouted. Gai burst into tears and gave Sai a manly hug.

"Oh Sai! Such youthfulness!!!" Gai cried while Sai struggled to rid himself of his grip. Unfortunately he was unable to win against Gai's strong 'Will of Fire' and had to endure Gai's Hug of Youth™ After about five minutes Gai released Sai. "Okay Sai. You and Naruto are first, everyone clear a space in the middle of the room for this burst of YOUTH!" he shouted.

Sasuke growled but allowed Naruto to get up and walk towards the smirking Sai.

"That's right nerd; your little boyfriend's not here to save you now." He said loudly. Naruto titled his head cutely.

"Huh? Since when have I had a boyfriend Sai?" he asked innocently. Everyone laughed and Sai growled loudly. Gai walked between the boys and grinned brightly.

"Okay, everyone knows the rules! I don't want any unyouthfulness so no demon powers, broken noses or bones. LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!" He shouted loudly as Naruto and Sai squared off with each other. Naruto looked up expectantly at Sai and began circling him dutifully. Sai smiled cunningly and Naruto grinned back. Sasuke watched on warily and carefully watched Sai's movements. All of a sudden Sai was in front of Naruto and was aiming a fist at his head. Sasuke half stood up but saw that Naruto was smirking and sat back down. Naruto ducked the swing quickly before shooting straight up and hitting Sai squarely underneath the chin; making his neck snap back roughly. Sai cried out and fell backwards; landing on the floor. Naruto tilted his head and looked at Sai with a bright grin before stamping his foot roughly onto Sai's chest. With a low growl he knelt down and punched Sai across the head. Grabbing Sai's leg he painfully pulled it upwards into a correct pinning position. Sai lay stunned from the last punch and Gai slid across the floor before counting loudly to three.

"One!" He said, slamming his fist to the ground. "Two! Three!" He finished loudly. Everyone cheered and clapped as Naruto cheerfully stood up. Sai groaned in pain and cursed under his breath as he stood up. Naruto walked toward the edge of the ring and Sai ran forward before swinging his fist at Naruto's head. Before anyone had time to react Naruto swung around and knocked Sai's fist away with his left hand before connecting a solid round-house kick to his chest. Sai stumbled back in surprise and he fell heavily to the ground. Naruto knelt down next to Sai and grinning cutely said loudly for everyone to hear.

"I thought I told you to stay out of my way Sai. Contrary to popular belief I'm not a weak nerd and you should understand that now." He said before standing up and making his way to sit beside Sasuke again; the class watching in amazement. Sasuke looked proudly down at his mate to be. _Stuff that nonsense I thought about Naruto not being right for me. I know he's smart and now I know that he's powerful. That's two out of three of the Uchiha requirements_ he thought happily.

The fights continued for the rest of the lesson, but none finished as quickly as the first fight had. Eventually the bell was ringing to signify the end of class and the students rushed out to lunch.

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Lunch found the usual gang sitting in the shade of the birch tree, happily chatting away to one another. Sasuke sat with his back against the tree and his knees propped up, while Naruto leaned back against them. Sasuke was gazing in wonderment at his little mate to be, remembering the speed, strength and skill he'd shown in the Gym earlier. _Against Sai as well_, Sasuke thought _who is_ _usually a tough demon to beat_. Sasuke was pulled from his musings when Naruto shifted slightly; sending his scent and warmth through Sasuke's body. He sighed in pleasure and tuned back into the conversation.

"Kiba I am not letting you buy me p-po-por- naughty books for my birthday." Naruto stuttered cutely. Kiba looked at him in disappointment.

"But Naru, it's your birthday tomorrow and you're turning sixteen! The big one-six! You _have_ to do something wild or crazy. It's like the rules." He said convincingly, but Naruto wasn't buying it.

"No way, I just want to sit at home or maybe go over to Kakashi and Sasuke's house." Naruto replied firmly and Sasuke grinned. Suddenly Naruto yawned and sheepishly covered his mouth. "Ah sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night. I guess I'm still really tired." He said. He yelped cutely and flailed his arms when Sasuke's legs suddenly parted and he fell back with an 'oomph'. His head looked up from Sasuke's stomach in confusion. Sasuke smiled gently and shifted to make himself more comfortable.

"Go to sleep." He said simply and turned back to talk to Neji. Naruto smiled warmly and snuggled into Sasuke's lap before letting his eyes close. Within seconds he was asleep; Sasuke looked down at Naruto and smiled, a strange sense of completeness spreading through his body. Naruto mumbled something in his sleep before hugging Sasuke's thigh and nuzzling it cutely.

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The next morning found Iruka cautiously entering Naruto's room. _Naruto will go through 'Maturity' today_ Iruka thought to himself nervously. _Maybe I should keep him from going to school? No I can't do that Sasuke will kill me. I just hope everyone's prepared._ He crept over to Naruto's bed and sat on the edge; he carefully reached over and swept Naruto's bangs off of his face. Iruka started when he noticed that Naruto's whisker-like marks were bolder and thicker then they usually were. Before he could touch them though, a hand suddenly shot up and grabbed his wrist in a bone-breaking grip; Iruka looked up in surprise at Naruto's glowing red eyes.

"Naruto? It's me Iruka." He said squinting from the pain. Naruto's grip weakened and the red quickly flooded from his eyes leaving them their usual brilliant blue. Naruto blinked sleepily.

""Ruka?" He asked sluggishly and Iruka nodded. Naruto groaned and reached for his glasses only to find that when he put them on they in fact made his vision worse. He frowned at the glasses and set them back onto the table.

"Happy birthday Naruto!" Iruka suddenly said smiling down at his young charge. Naruto's eyes grew impossibly wide and he leapt from the bed.

"It's my birthday! I'm sixteen!" he shouted, happily dancing around the room. He pulled Iruka into a cheerful hug and spun around in a quick circle. Iruka chuckled happily and led Naruto out of his bedroom and into the kitchen. Kiba greeted Naruto cheerfully and wished him a happy birthday and there on the table was a wide spread of ramen as well as three wrapped presents. Naruto hugged Iruka quickly and dove into the ramen, devouring it all surprisingly quickly. He then turned to the presents with stars in his eyes and Kiba slid a messily wrapped box in his direction. Naruto thanked him profusely and hastily ripped the wrapping paper from the box. He opened the lid and peered in to find a large white cloak. Naruto pulled in from the box and eyed it appraisingly; it stopped about mid-calf and had flames licking up from the bottom hem. It had short sleeves and when Naruto turned it around he could see four Japanese kanji sowed into the back (Think: Fourth Hokage's cloak). Naruto set it down carefully and tackled Kiba to the floor in a hug. Kiba chuckled and patted Naruto's head.

"You're welcome Naruto!" he said cheerfully and Naruto silently thanked him for not buying what he said he would. They stood up again and Iruka gave Naruto his gift. Naruto opened the neatly wrapped box carefully and took off the lid. Inside was a necklace, threaded onto a black cord were three pale blue crystals, the middle one being the longest. Naruto felt warmth spread through his entire being and it felt as in he had just gained a piece of his soul back. He gazed at the necklace in wonder and looked up at Iruka for an explanation. Iruka saw the look on Naruto's face and smiled at him.

"That necklace was your mothers Naru." He said gently and Naruto jerked in surprise. "Kakashi did some research and found out that she had it left to you. He went and got it yesterday." He continued. Naruto looked up at Iruka again.

"You know who my mother is?" he asked urgently. Iruka grimaced.

"No I don't but I might be able to find out for you one day Naru." He whispered gently, lying through his teeth. Naruto nodded at him and hugged him tightly with tears in his eyes. Iruka felt heat prickle behind his eyes as well but refrained from crying.

"Thank you "Ruka!" Naruto whispered sincerely. He quickly put the necklace over his head and it settled neatly next to his heart. Naruto looked over at the last box. "Who's that from?" he asked. Iruka went over to the table and handed it to Naruto.

"It's from Kakashi." He said happily. Naruto grinned happily and tore open the wrapping. He looked inside and could only see black silk and lace. He cocked his head to the side and pulled it out. Iruka looked over to Naruto and was surprised to see him holding up a naughty French maid outfit. Naruto looked at it in confusion and Kiba burst out laughing. Naruto searched through the box and pulled out a hand written note.

"To Naruto." He read aloud "Happy Sixteenth birthday! Wear this for Sasuke; I'm sure he will enjoy it thoroughly. Love Kakashi." Naruto looked from the card to the dress and back again. "I don't get it. Why would Kakashi give me a slutty dress and tell me to wear it around..Sa- OH MY GOD!" Naruto blushed deep red and threw the dress onto the ground. Kiba burst out laughing again and started rolling around on the ground. "Iruka!" Naruto shouted "What the hell?!" Iruka shrugged at Naruto.

"Well now Naruto you and Sasuke do spend a lot of time together. It's easy to confuse you both as a couple." He said with a smirk. Naruto gaped at him and growled lowly.

"Shut up." He said pouting "I don't like Sasuke like that." As soon a he finished he felt as if he'd been slapped in the face. "I do like Sasuke like that." He said uncontrollably. _What the hell?_ He thought _why would I say that?!_ Iruka looked at Naruto in surprise before his gaze fell on the necklace which was glowing a soft pink. He smiled.

"See that necklace Naruto?" he asked cheerfully. Naruto pulled his hand away from his mouth and looked at his now pink necklace.

"What? Why is it a different colour?" he asked holding it close to his face.

"That necklace makes you tell the truth even if you don't know what the truth is." He said and Kiba looked on in wonder.

"How is that possible?" Kiba asked "I mean I knew that Naruto liked Sasuke but a necklace that makes you tell the truth?" Iruka nodded and Naruto scowled.

"Trust me there are weirder things in this world." Iruka said knowingly and decided to change the subject. "So Naru are you going to put on that dress for Sasuke?" he asked deviously. Naruto squeaked and blushed bright red.

"Uh I'm late for school I'll see you this afternoon, BYE." He stuttered and ran upstairs to change into his uniform. Kiba smirked and wished his Dad a good day before walking out the door to walk Hinata to school.

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When Sasuke met Naruto at school he _knew_ that something had changed. Naruto no longer smelt like oranges and summer but instead he smelt of crisp snow and cinnamon flecked honey, also Naruto was avoiding him slightly. He kept his head down whenever he spoke to Sasuke and was blushing constantly. By English Sasuke had, had enough.

"Naruto what did I do?" he asked confusedly and Naruto looked up at him in surprise.

"You didn't do anything Sasuke." Naruto said quickly and shook his head.

"Then why are you avoiding me?" Sasuke asked angrily.

"I didn't mean to, I've just been thinking a lot lately and I feel really weird today." Naruto answered truthfully. He had been thinking a lot about his new found feelings for Sasuke. Also his head felt like it was growing and shrinking at the same time and sometimes he had a random spark of anger for no particular reason. He's also suddenly smelt thousands of different things and the next second they were gone. Sasuke looked at him carefully.

"So we're still friends?" Naruto nodded "Are you okay?" he asked in concern. Naruto nodded again.

"I'm fine." He said and glanced towards the front "Is it just me or is Shikamaru looking at me more then usual?" he asked Sasuke. Sasuke followed his gaze and sure enough saw Shikamaru studying Naruto.

"What do you mean more then usual?" he asked protectively. Naruto looked over and blushed.

"Uh well ever since I started I noticed that Shikamaru is always looking at me and now today he seems to be studying me." He said nervously. Sasuke growled fiercely and put an arm around Naruto. Naruto blushed deeply and looked down at his lap. Shikamaru lazily slid his eyes towards Sasuke and Sasuke bared his fangs at him. Shikamaru shrugged and laid his head down onto the desk to get a quick nap. Sasuke reluctantly slid his arm away from Naruto.

"He stopped." He whispered. Naruto grinned at him, blush still on his face. Sasuke nodded smugly and returned to his schoolwork.

Uhg I can't believe I stopped it there! Part of me really wants to continue and the other part is telling me to make you guys suffer. But yeah today's the much dreaded Friday! I also need help with whom to pair Gaara with. I know the most common pairing is Neji and I want it to be a guy. So would you guys be okay with Neji?


	11. Chapter 10

**My lovely reviewers! i decided that i would write another Chapter with the persuation of **.Sailor.L.

**PLEASE READ: At the moment the pairings for Gaara are as follows; Gaara/Haku - 1  
Gaara/Neji - 5  
Gaara/Lee - 2**

**Please vote in your reviews and i'll have a few paragraphs dedicated to their love~**

**On to teh Chapter!**

* * *

**~Chapter Ten~**

"Happy Birthday Naruto." Ino yelled pulling Naruto into a giant hug and gave him a kiss on his hair covered cheek. He blushed lightly.

"Thanks Ino." He smiled. Everyone else smiled and wished Naruto a happy birthday as well. A few seconds later Sakura walked up to Naruto and looked him over carefully.

"There's something…different about you Naru." She said thoughtfully and Naruto tilted his head to the side in question. Ino looks closely as well and grinned in triumph.

"You're not wearing your glasses!" she exclaimed and pointed a finger at Naruto. Sakura narrowed her eyes in thought.

"That's not what I meant…" she whispered but was unheard by everybody. Naruto chuckled and nodded his head in affirmation.

"Yeah, this morning when I put them on they made my vision worse. So I left them at home." He said happily and the group nodded.

"Gaara should be here soon. He rang me this morning and mentioned he would be late." Neji spoke up. Sasuke nodded and Naruto grinned broadly, excited about his birthday.

"Uh Sasuke?" Shino said quietly. Sasuke looked at him in question "Sai's coming over and he's bringing a group." Sasuke looked up quickly and sure enough Sai was walking towards their tree followed by about half the school. They were all chatting excitedly and were itching to see a fight. Sasuke looked over at Naruto in worry and saw that he had his head tilted to the side in confusion. Before he could suggest going somewhere else Sai was in front of Naruto and the people following him had created a circle. Sai growled at Naruto loudly and Naruto felt something buzzing in the back of his mind.

"You'll pay for that stunt you pulled yesterday Uzumaki." Sai spat furiously "You should learn your place in this school." He seethed. Naruto looked at him coolly, although his expression couldn't be seen.

"Maybe you should learn that there is more to life than pissing people off and getting your ass kicked." Naruto retorted with a smile. Sai growled loudly and Sasuke went to step up beside Naruto when Shino grabbed his shoulder.

"I think Naruto will be fine Sasuke. Trust me." Shino said quietly and Sasuke nodded tightly and turned back to Naruto and Sai.

"Yesterday was a fluke Uzumaki." Sai said fiercely, "I wasn't up to a fight yesterday and didn't think I'd have to put up much against a weakling like you." He said grumpily, indicating Naruto. This time Shino had to hold Sasuke back. Sai's gaze turned to Naruto's neck where his mother's delicate necklace sat. "Jeez. Talk about a sissy. Since when do straight guys wear pretty little necklaces?" He cooed. Naruto tilted his head to the side cutely.

"Since my mother left it to me." He said simply. Sai lifted an eyebrow.

"Mummies boy are ya?" He sneered and Naruto tilted his head to the side again. Suddenly Sai yelled with rage. "Stop acting so cute!" he yelled, he reached out and quickly snapped the necklace from Naruto's neck. He examined it carefully and chuckled deeply. "Huh your mother's ideas of gifts are pathetic. A truth necklace? Please." He sneered. He looked over at Naruto and saw that the boy was shaking slightly. "What you're gonna cry now Uzumaki?" he cooed.

"Don't talk about my mother Sai." Naruto growled "Give it back. Now." He said angrily. Sai smirked.

"Hit a sore spot have I? It's a pity I can't give it back though, what with it being broken and all." And before Naruto could act Sai summoned his demonic strength and crushed the delicate necklace in his palm. He chuckled evilly and looked at Naruto again. He heard Hinata gasp sharply and she, Sakura and Ino all took a step back. His gaze returned to Naruto who still had his head down.

Naruto felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest. It felt as if a part of his body had been ripped off and thrown to the ground. His chest ached with the phantom pain and somewhere in the back of his head he heard something snap. Suddenly Naruto fell to the ground and screamed loudly, he grabbed his head, pulling at his hair. He suddenly stopped and fell on all fours, breathing harshly. Sai took a step back when the air became thick with killing intent. He was even more surprised when he found that the source was Naruto. All of a sudden Naruto lunged forward and grabbed a hold of Sai's shirt.

"You fucking bastard!" he screamed loudly. His fist came out of nowhere and he punched Sai severely in the face. Sai yelped in pain and tried to scramble away from the now growling Naruto. Naruto smiled "Oh no you don't." he whispered and leapt towards Sai again. He kicked Sai's feet out from under him and leapt high into the air. Sai fell to the ground in a heap, winded. Naruto swivelled in the air and crashed down on Sai with surprising force. Sai moaned loudly and tried to roll out from underneath Naruto but Naruto grabbed his throat with one hand and slowly began to crush Sai's windpipe. Sai's fingers began to frantically scratch at the hand on his throat and he tried to breathe in a ragged breath. Naruto growled loudly and let go just before Sai passed out. Sai sighed (lol) in relief and lay there gasping for air but Naruto wasn't finished just yet. He pulled back a fist and with an angry roar pummelled into Sai's face continually. His nails grew into sharpened claws and he scratched and tore at Sai's chest desperately trying to reach his heart so he could rip it out and Sai could feel the pain he did. The thick smell of fresh blood stopped him and he looked down in horror at Sai's chest. He glanced to the side and saw his mother's necklace lying in the dirt completely shattered and he howled in pain again. He felt something swirling in his stomach and saw red.

Sasuke watched in fascination as Naruto suddenly stopped trying to tear Sai into pieces and watched wearily as Naruto howled in pain. His heart clenched and he once again tried to break free of Lee, Shino and Neji's grip. Hinata came over to him and softly whispered into his ear.

"Sasuke I know it's tough to watch your mate go through such pain but this is his fight and he'll never forgive you if you interfere." Sasuke nodded tersely. Just then he heard a sharp gasp come from the crowd and he looked up in surprise. Naruto had hauled Sai to his feet and held him in front of him. But that wasn't what everyone was gaping at. In Naruto's hand was a swirling ball of blue chakra. Sasuke had never seen anything like it and tensed when Naruto brought his hand back and with a loud cry of rage and pain slammed it into Sai's chest. Sai's body flew backwards and slammed into a few gaping people. Naruto slowly turned around and knelt in the dust, he picked up his mothers necklace and put it in his pocket carefully. Sakura rushed passed him and grudgingly began to heal the gaping hole in Sai's chest. Sasuke cautiously approached Naruto and Shino, Lee, Neji, Ino and Hinata followed, he reached towards Naruto's heaving chest and yelped in surprise when Naruto growled furiously at him and snapped at his hand.

"Naruto are you okay?" he asked, alarmed but Naruto just continued to growl.

"What's going on here?" a new voice questioned loudly and everyone turned in surprise to see Garra standing with a frown on his face.

Naruto winced when he heard the new voice and looked at the new arrival. He took in the short red hair and the pale skin but what got him was the thick black marks around the sea foam green eyes. Naruto narrowed his eyes threateningly.

"Taniki." He accused angrily and lunged at Gaara. Garra's eyes widened in surprise and he quickly threw up a wall of sand for protection. The blonde merely used his claws to scale the wall and dropped over the other side. Naruto aimed a punch at Gaara's face but that was easily dodged. Gaara took a tentative sniff and glared evilly at Naruto.

"Kitsune." He yelled and threw sand spikes at Naruto quickly. Naruto ran forward and dodged the spikes until he stood directly in front of Gaara. He roared loudly and spun around in a round-house kick that landed solidly on Gaara's chest; he flew backwards and fell onto a mound of soft sand. Gaara growled angrily and ran at Naruto, he threw punch after punch but Naruto dodged and flipped his way around them. Finally one of his hidden sand clones tripped Naruto and he stumbled. Gaara took the opportunity to aim a punch at his face, it landed solidly and Naruto went flying backwards. He arced gracefully through the air and landed on all fours before skidding back a few feet. Naruto howled loudly and suddenly fiery red chakra began to lick at his sides. He leaned forward on his hands and the chakra began to take shape upon his body. Two red ears poked up from his head and two chakra tails swirled threateningly above his head. Gaara narrowed his eyes and raced forward, Naruto running forward on all fours. They collided with a bang and when the dust cleared Sasuke could see his obviously demon mate to be being straddled by Gaara. He growled possessively and watched in shock as Naruto suddenly embraced Garra tightly. Red flames began to lick up Gaara's body and he screamed in pain. His sand rose highly and dumped over the two with a crash.

The crowd watched on as the seconds ticked by and nothing happened. Sasuke was about to take a step forward when the sand suddenly rose in a loud explosion, it stopped in midair and pulsed in a sphere around the two boys. Sasuke could see through the large gaps in the circle and was surprised to see three Naruto's surrounding Gaara. They all hissed in anger and lunged at the same time. Suddenly the circle exploded and sand flew everywhere. The crowd peered through the dust and saw that Garra was in a thin shell of sand and all three Naruto's had a hand stuck through the wall. With a flicker of fire two of the Naruto vanished and the one left standing pulled his hand free of the sand. Naruto took three steps back and did an elegant twirl, when he landed he punched his fist forward and the air shuddered. The ground beneath Gaara's shield began to tremble and quake; all of a sudden it burst into flames and a whirlpool of fire rose and swayed high into the air. Naruto grinned and took another step back, when the fire died down the sand shield had turned into clear glass. Sasuke peered into the case and was surprised when he saw that it was empty. Naruto growled angrily and spun around sniffing the air.

Suddenly the ground about ten metres away from Naruto shuddered and from the earth rose Gaara, sand streaming down his sides to pool at his feet. He and Naruto growled angrily and Gaara began to form his sand into a sharp point on the end of his arm. Naruto copied him but used his fire instead. They roared and began to run towards each other speedily, just then the air beside Sasuke shuddered slightly and he felt someone sweep past him. Shikamaru leapt between the charging demons and used his shadows to stop them in their place. Naruto and Gaara growled fiercely and struggled against their bonds. Shikamaru began to sweat heavily.

"Hurry up Kakashi, I can't hold them long." he growled out and Sasuke felt a second being rush past him. Kakashi stepped up to Gaara.

"Gaara, Naruto isn't a threat. Relax." He said, holding out one of Hinata's calming potions. When the scent washed over Gaara he instantly relaxed and dropped his sand.

"Sorry Kakashi. I guess I just lost control." He said and bent his head in shame. Kakashi nodded and Shikamaru released Gaara from his shadows. Ino rushed to Gaara's side and began healing his burns and cuts. They all turned to Naruto who was still growling fiercely and shaking his head from side to side. He growled loudly and suddenly there were thousands of Naruto's in the clearing, Kakashi swore loudly.

"Jaraiya's seal's broken." He shouted frantically "Sasuke we need you." Sasuke nodded and ran towards Naruto as the clones were advancing on Gaara. He skidded to a halt in front of Naruto and grabbed him in a loving embrace. Sasuke quickly let out wave upon wave of his scent and Naruto melted in his arms. With a flare of fire all the Naruto clones vanished and Kakashi, Gaara and Shikamaru sighed with relief. Naruto pulled Sasuke close and breathed in deeply again. Sasuke looked at Kakashi, silently demanding an explanation and Kakashi sighed.

"All in due time Sasuke. Right now we have to get Naruto to Jaraiya and Tsunade before he goes into 'Maturity'." He said before looking around the school yard. "Shoo you hooligans, shows over." He looked at Sai and sighed heavily "He started it didn't he?" he asked Lee, who nodded.

"In a move of unyouthfulness Sai crushed Naruto's mother's necklace." He said sadly. Kakashi swore.

"That's what set him off." He said and gestured for Sasuke to follow him. Sasuke nodded and picked Naruto up bridle style and continued sending out waves of his scent to keep Naruto drunk and sedated. Naruto snuggled closer to him and sighed deeply. When they passed Gaara Naruto looked at him blurrily and growled softly.

------------------------------

It took them a little over thirty minutes to arrange for some vehicles to pick them all up; Kakashi thanked Shikamaru and sent him back to the Underworld's Guard.

"So you knew that Naruto was going to have a difficult maturity and posted Shikamaru as a teacher?" Shino questioned Kakashi, who nodded.

"Yes, he replaced Jaraiya so he could go and study a way to help Naruto when he reached maturity." Kakashi explained quickly. Sasuke nodded. _So that's why Shikamaru was always looking at Naruto_ he thought, relieved _he was just keeping an eye on him_. It took another thirty minutes to arrive at Tsunade's house. Before they entered Kakashi turned to them all.

"All will be explained in due time. Leave your questions until after Naruto's gone through maturity." He ordered and they all nodded in acceptance.

------------------------------

Tsunade's brown eyes looked up when she heard a knock at her door. _This better be bloody important_ she thought crankily. She rose from her chair, flipping her long blonde hair over a shoulder and opened the door, she glanced around in confusion at all the faces until she saw a familiar one.

"Kakashi why the hell are you here? And what's with all the brats?" she questioned, gesturing towards everyone. Kakashi looked wearily at her.

"Hinata give Naru a calming potion; Sasuke call Iruka; Tsunade we need your help." He directed and Hinata pulled out a small blue jar while Sasuke pulled out a cell phone. Tsunade looked at him in confusion.

"With what? Who's Naru?" She questioned angrily. Kakashi stepped to the side so she could see a slightly swaying Naruto.

"Tsunade, meet Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze." He said gesturing towards the blonde. Tsunade gasped and fell to her knees.

"He's alive?" She whispered tearfully and struggled to keep her composure.

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**Yay a cliffhanger! Short i know but i shall update again tomorrow! Please review!**

**Hotaru~**

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	12. Chapter 11

**Maa, i felt guilty for the cliffhanger so i wrote an extra long chapter~ Thank you for all the lovely reviews once again and a special shout out to **Susurinaki **who drew some awesome FanArt for this story. By the looks of it, Gaara is going to be paired with Neji~ Enjoy!**

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**~Chapter Eleven~**

Naruto was sitting passively on Tsunade's couch while Iruka was sitting across from him.

"So I'm a demon?" he asked quietly. Iruka nodded and scooted closer.

"Yes. Since today is your sixteenth birthday you'll soon be going through a process we like to call 'maturity'. During this stage you'll get your full demon powers." He said slowly, making sure Naruto understood every word. Naruto turned to everyone else and looked over their reactions. Sasuke looked incredibly happy, Gaara, Shino and Neji all seemed to be stunned. Sakura, Ino and Hinata were looking on in interest and Lee was simply bouncing around exclaiming something to do with Naruto's youth. Under those expressions Naruto could see an underlining worry that he wouldn't accept who he was.

Naruto slowly turned back to where Iruka was waiting anxiously. He nodded at Iruka who smiled happily and turned to Tsunade "You're a high class healer who's going to help me go through this maturity thing right?" He stated and she nodded also, Naruto turned to the old white haired man with the red markings coming from his eyes "And you're gonna help too?" he asked and the guy nodded cheerfully and gave Naruto a thumbs up. Naruto sat still for awhile then nodded again. "Okay." He said. Sasuke and Iruka looked at him in shock.

"Okay?" they both asked in unison. Naruto nodded.

"Okay." He repeated and smiled. The whole room relaxed and returned his smile. Tsunade took the seat next to him.

"You can tell what type of demon a person is by the mark on their bodies." She said and looked at Sasuke. Sasuke nodded and pulled down the collar of his shirt to reveal a circular black mark with three comma symbols in the centre. "This is Sasuke's mark, it means that he's a wolf demon, one of the last surviving pure demons." She explained and looked at Iruka; he pulled up his shirt and showed Naruto the blue fin-like mark on his hip. "That's Iruka's mark; it means he's a dolphin demon. That's a lower class demon." Iruka pulled his shirt down and the remaining demons in the room all showed their marks too. Naruto saw Lee's jaguar mark on his shin, Shino's bug mark on his neck, Neji's hawk mark on his forehead, Gaara's raccoon mark around his eyes and Kakashi's dog mark on his chest. Tsunade turned back to Naruto "Do you have a mark like these ones?" she asked gently and Naruto nodded his head, Tsunade smiled at him "Can I see it?" she asked. Naruto frantically shook his head. Tsunade frowned. "Why not?" Naruto sighed deeply and sunk into himself. "Is it because it's in an embarrassing place?" She asked trying to hide a smirk. Naruto shook his head again.

"I can't show it to you." He said quietly.

"Why not?" Tsunade asked, trying not to loose her temper.

"Because, when I was little the people at the orphanage always called me names because of them. Every time I went out people would stop and stare, then run away quickly whenever I got too close to them. They were terrified of me." He whispered hugging his knees to his chest. "That's why I grew my hair out. After that people would still look at me weird but they'd at least let me come near them. If I show them to you, you'll run away too." He finished glumly. Tsunade nodded.

"Can I ask what they are then?" Naruto shook his head and Iruka leant over to whisper into Tsunade's ear. She gasped loudly and looked closely at Naruto. She leaned forward until he was the only one who could hear her.

"Naruto those marks are nothing to be ashamed about. In fact you should be proud of them. Your kind is extremely powerful and people were just scared that you would hurt them. But we all know that you wouldn't hurt us Naruto so it's okay. You know what else Naruto? You're the last demon of your kind." She whispered. Naruto looked up in surprise and Tsunade nodded "Oh yes, you are the very last of your kind on earth and in the underworld. You should be proud of who you are." She finished and sat back to watch it all sink in. Naruto glanced to Iruka who nodded and studied every single person in the room. When he was satisfied that they would stay with him no matter what, Naruto nodded and snatched up a nearby kunai. Sasuke sat forward quickly,

"Naruto what are you doing?" he asked frantically, fearing the worst. Iruka grabbed his shoulder and shook his head at him. Sasuke nodded but still kept a close eye on Naruto. With his head still bent Naruto raised the kunai and grabbed a fistful of hair. Swiftly he cut his bangs so that they just grazed his eyebrows. As his golden hair fell to the ground he sighed deeply. He frowned when he went to take his glasses off and remembered that they weren't there. _Must be a side effect of the maturity thing_ he shrugged before slowly beginning to raise his head.

Sasuke watched in growing anticipation as Naruto slowly raised his head and was suddenly blown away by Naruto's beauty. The jaws in the room dropped and Sasuke had to sit on his hands to stop himself from reaching forward. Soft blonde bangs brushed against Naruto's impossibly blue eyes that were staring directly into Sasuke's own. His naturally tanned skin glowed in the dim lighting of Tsunade's study and his demon marks stood out proudly. Sasuke gaped as he studied the contours in Naruto's soft round cheeks. The three parallel whisker-like marks sitting on each of Naruto's cheeks clearly showed him as being a fox demon; one of the remaining pure demons and also the very last of his kind. Sasuke sat back in wonder and continued to stare at Naruto. He remembered what Kakashi and Iruka had said to him and understood that they knew who Naruto was.

"_Chosen like a true Uchiha but Iruka's going to kill me." Kakashi groaned then grabbed the phone._

"_Sasuke you picked well with Naruto." Sasuke gave a brief nod then remembered that Iruka couldn't see him._

Sasuke smirked and reached across to hug Naruto.

"You're nothing to be afraid of Naru." He whispered and Naruto relaxed and grinned. Sasuke watched in amazement as he finally saw what the smile did to Naruto's features. Naruto's blue eyes shone happily and crinkled slightly at the edges and the whisker-like demon marks stretched to accommodate his wide grin. He tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes and Sasuke could see the definite resemblance between Naruto and a fox.

"Thank you 'Suke." Naruto said and opened his eyes again. He looked around the room and saw everyone's accepting gazes. His smile changed from a large grin to a gentle smile of pure happiness. "Thank you all." He whispered and then turned his gaze back to Sasuke. He looked shyly at Sasuke through his lashes and smiled gently, a light blush peppering his cheeks. A small pink tongue swept over his lips nervously and they glistened wetly in the light. Sasuke gulped loudly and before he knew it Naruto was in his arms.

"God you're beautiful." He whispered, causing Naruto's blush to deepen. He let go and leaned back to admire Naruto who was trying to hide his face cutely. Sasuke chuckled deeply and sat back. Tsunade cleared her throat.

"Alright Naruto, because of your condition we're going to need to put another seal on you okay?" She questioned. Naruto looked at her in surprise.

"You've put a seal on me before?" he questioned. Tsunade nodded and gestured for him to lie down. He complied and looked at her again.

"Lift your shirt up Naruto." She instructed and Naruto obeyed. Sasuke watched on as Naruto slowly almost teasingly lifted his shirt up to reveal smooth caramel skin. Naruto was slim yet toned and Sasuke could see his hipbones poking out of his pants provocatively. Sakura nudged him and gestured for him to wipe his mouth, when he did he was surprised to find a fair amount of drool on his hand. Tsunade leaned forward with chakra glowing hands and laid them across Naruto's abdomen. Naruto shivered at the unexpected touch and watched in fascination as a black seal rose to the surface of his skin. Tsunade surveyed the swirl quickly and called to Jaraiya. He walked over quickly and studied the seal.

"It was broken. Probably by deep emotional distress coupled with the strain of Maturity." He concluded "We need to replace it now before-" Suddenly a magic pulse sent Tsunade and Jaraiya flying back into the study wall. Naruto growled loudly and sat up on his haunches. Jaraiya gulped.

"Before that happens." He finished "Everyone no matter what do not approach Naruto until we deem it safe to." He said loudly and turned to Tsunade "It's out of our hands now. All we can do is sit and wait until a side wins. If a side wins at all." He said grimly. Everyone backed away from Naruto slowly, eying him warily. He growled ferociously and threw the table at Hinata. She screamed loudly and waited for the pain to come. When she didn't she looked up cautiously to see that Lee had zoomed in front of her and caught the table. Hinata silently thanked him and she Ino and Sakura quickly built up a wall of magic around the group; Naruto on one side, them on the other. Sasuke growled loudly in protest but Jaraiya stopped him quickly.

"He's not himself Sasuke; if you go near him he will kill you." Jaraiya reasoned. Sasuke could do nothing but nod tersely and turn back to watch Naruto. Naruto growled fiercely and began throwing everything that wasn't bolted down at the magic shield. The girls began to sweat from the effort of keeping such a large shield up. Suddenly Naruto stopped and stood calmly in the centre of the rumble. He regarded the group coolly before screaming in pain, fire pooled out of his mouth and scorched the broken couch next to him. Naruto clutched his throat painfully as he began to glow a fierce red. He yowled in pain and the red slowly turned to a calming blue, he stood there whimpering before clutching his head and screaming again. Sasuke watched in horror as Naruto's teeth grew frightfully large. Without warning Naruto snapped at his own hand, his razor like teeth sinking in to the bone. He growled and let go quickly. The blood from the wound quickly began to pool around his feet. Naruto stared at the wound in wonder as a soft blue glow started up and the skin sealed itself back together. He stood warily waiting to see what else would happen.

He screamed loudly again when he felt as though fire was spreading through his veins and he dropped to the ground on all fours. He howled loudly and began to shiver violently. He screamed in pain as his legs and forearms grew muscles and the bones in his body began to lengthen painfully. His baggy clothes tore from his body as his shoulders broadened and his back arched. The sounds of snapping and crunching bones could be heard as the joints broke apart and clicked back into place somewhere else. Naruto felt white hot pain sliver down his spine and suddenly his tail bone was growing and splitting apart simultaneously. The skin on his palms and feet became hard and calloused, and his nails became sharp claws. A great wave of fur began to break out across his body and he screamed as if he was being pricked repeatedly with thousands of needles. His jaw elongated and he snapped his teeth wildly, trying to reduce the pain. When the process was finally over Naruto was in his full fox demon form; his fur was a rich golden colour and all nine of his tails looked to have been dipped in white paint. His eyes were glowing a deep red and he had slit pupils' similar to a cat. He whimpered loudly and sought out Sasuke's eyes pleadingly. Sasuke's heart bled well he saw Naruto's forlorn expression and wished desperately that he could do something.

Suddenly a soothing feeling began to run down Naruto's spine and he sighed in relief; a blue glow began from the centre of his back and slowly slid down either side. As the blue glow travelled, it slowly and painlessly changed Naruto's body back to his human form. Feathers began to fall around Naruto is a spinning circle and he screamed as he felt something tearing from the skin in his back. The group watched in horror as Naruto's face contorted in agony and he arched his back painfully. There was a loud tearing sound and a set of large white wings tore from Naruto's back unforgivingly. Naruto knelt painfully on the ground, panting heavily; he slowly lifted his head and tried to stand. The wings put his balance off and he stumbled, not used to their added weight. He sighed in relief and panted. Hinata gasped and pointed to Naruto's right wing which had started turning a foreboding black. Suddenly the feathers burst into flame and he screamed in agony as they turned to a charred black and fell from his body. He stood there whimpering painfully with tears running down from his face. Naruto gasped in lung fulls of air trying desperately to stop the pain that was coming from his very soul. A magic pulse blast out and cleared the rubble away from Naruto's prone form just as the girls couldn't control the shield any longer. With a shudder the shield dropped and the group looked fearfully at Naruto. Tsunade stepped forward and examined him carefully.

"It's over." She said in relief just as Naruto lifted his head. One eye was his normal beautiful blue while the other was a deep foreboding red, the pupil akin to a cat's. He tilted his head to the side and a pair of fox ears tumbled into view before receding back into his hair. Slowly he pointed a finger at Sasuke.

"That one." He rasped painfully "I choose him as my mate." He finished before falling to the ground in a dead faint. Tsunade rushed forward.

"I have to take him into the examination room now." She said frantically, she looked over her shoulder at Sasuke "I don't know if he will survive but congratulations on your successful engagement." She whispered and hurriedly rushed Naruto in to an adjoining room. Sasuke felt a strange mixture of euphoria and worry as he watched the disappearing figure of his mate.

----------------------------

Two hours later Tsunade emerged from the room and shutting the door quietly turned to the restless group. She smiled tiredly and there were relived sighs all around.

"He'll be fine." She whispered, smiling. "If you haven't figured it out already Naruto isn't exactly a full demon. He's the result of an angel and a demon mating, the very child that started the Great War between the angels and demons." She said carefully. Everyone gasped sharply and Sasuke reeled back in shock.

"But that's forbidden and completely impossible." Ino said disbelievingly. Tsunade nodded.

"You'll hear the full story later but right now I'll tell you Naruto's condition." She turned towards Iruka and Kakashi "It's strange, he's mostly demon but it looks as if he's going to keep his angelic looks, their healing capabilities and their blue magic." She said frowning "I've never seen anyone so strong. Not only has he survived sixteen years of his genes constantly fighting against each other but he survived five full body changes in less than thirty minutes. Usually when a pure demon enters maturity it's almost too much with just one body change but this boy..." she said trailing off in wonder. Iruka nodded

"He's always been a strong boy." He said smiling gently. Tsunade nodded.

"There's more, I examined his back and I found an angel marking. He has two small wings tattooed just below his neck. I think his genes found peace with each other and are now living harmonically. This means that Naruto could very well be stronger then all of us here in this room." She whispered in amazement. Sasuke nodded proudly.

"Can we see him now Tsunade?" he asked, itching to see his mate's face again. Tsunade nodded and lead them over to the door; she opened it and gestured them to walk into the room. Sasuke looked down at Naruto to see his mate's face in a peaceful expression, his skin glowing healthily. Once again Tsunade began to speak.

"His angelic genes have healed him completely. He'll just be sleeping off his exhaustion now." She explained and the group was relieved. She looked worriedly at Iruka and Kakashi "But because of the stress of changing, his inner memories will most probably be unlocked." She murmured. "What I'm saying is Naruto's going to remember that night." she whispered and Iruka gasped sharply, clutching at his chest.

---

_The full moon shone its blinding light through the bedroom window; casting gloomy shadows across the walls and lighting up the blonde hair of a small boy. Eight year old Naruto sighed and gazed up at it sadly with wide blue eyes as he listened to the screams of his fighting parents._

"_How dare you sleep with her? I'm your wife!" He heard his mother, Maiko call out angrily. Naruto heard the slap of a hand to bare skin and cringed._

"_I have every right to sleep with her! She's fucking ten times nicer than you are! I treat you better than you deserve, so shut your mouth!" His father, Ryota cried out. Naruto closed his eyes and clenched his fist as a tear trickled down his cheek. _

"_How dare you!" Maiko screamed in rage. "What have I ever done to you? If I went running off with some other man I'm sure you'd get jealous."_

"_Jealous? I'd be more than jealous! It's different went it's your wife!" He demanded._

"_How? How is it? That lady is married too you know!" Maiko cried out in anguish._

"_Yeah. To a dirty scum bag. She deserves better! _I_ deserve better!" He screamed. "I'm sick of you!"_

_Naruto stood up angrily and walked to his door. He paused for several moments as he took deep calming breaths. He looked up and opening the door, ran downstairs and into the kitchen._

"_Shut up!" He cried out loudly; his tears flowing more freely. "Stop fighting! Please!" His father ignored him as he shoved his wife into the hot stove making her cry out in pain when her hands met the red hot metal._

"_Please stop!" She screamed; pulling her hands away from the stove and holding them out painfully. "Please, for Naru's sake!" Ryota shoved her again._

"_What has he ever done for me? He doesn't even wear those glasses I wasted my good money on! He's a fucked up accident! What good is he?" He screamed, his voice gaining in altitude. _

_Naruto reached out and tried to pull his father away by the shirt; his small weak body struggled with the task. He tugged at the shirt, barely even making his presence known. He let go and clenched his fists before punching his father in the back. Ryota grabbed his hand and pushed him away._

"_Don't you dare threaten me you filthy child! Get out of this house now!" He yelled, raising his hand._

_Naruto stared in fear and stumbled blindly out of the room. He opened the back door and ran outside; racing as hard and fast as he could. Tears ran from his eyes, blurring his vision even further as he swept through the forest behind his house like a racing horse._

_He cleared his eyes from tears and slowed down; looking behind him to check that he wasn't being followed. After jogging for a time, he tried to gain his breath as he ran deeper and deeper into the forest. Suddenly a cold wind started; chilling Naruto's hopes, and heightening his fears. The large moon fell behind a cloud, instantly sending the forest into darkness. Naruto paused and leaned against a tree as he listened to his surroundings. The noise of snapping twigs roused his attention and he swung around to peer into the gloomy forest. He expected to see his outraged father stalking after him, but instead he saw nothing. Glancing around in fear his mind began to play tricks on him; creating large shadows that flickered across his peripheral vision._

_He swallowed fearfully and began to back away as quickly as he could as he tried to escape the impending shadows. He paused for a while and took deep breathes before finally deciding he was not being followed. Taking a step he continued, but his foot caught on a branch, sending him face first. He softened his blow with his hands, but gasped in pain as one landed on a sharp rock; sending searing rolls of pain to sweep up his arm._

_He rolled to his side and crouched against a tree as he examined his cut palm in the darkness. Tears sprung back to his eyes and he wiped them away with the back of his good hand. He pulled the jagged rock from the deep bloody cut and wiped his palm onto his shirt, cleaning it as best he could. He whimpered as the cut began to bleed strongly; flowing through his shirt and onto the ground. He leaned against a tree and groaned in pain as he tried to stop the bleeding with his shirt._

_Once again he heard the snapping of twigs, and he looked up fearfully to search the trees. Seeing nothing, he stood up and cautiously wound his way off of the path, and into the thick bushes behind. Scrambling through the thick bush, he stepped onto the top of a steep slope. He gazed into the small hollow below and took a step just as the dirt gave way beneath him. He fell backwards and his body slid down the slope before roughly running into a tree. Naruto gasped in pain and almost lost consciousness._

_After his vision stopped swimming he slowly stood up and tried in vain to get the dirt out of his cut palm. Fear rose within him and a chill went down his spine as he heard a twig snap. His eyes searched the darkness before focusing on something on the rise. He stared in fear as he gazed into the deathly yellow eyes of a large mangled creature. Its forelimbs were thin and spindly, and seemed out of proportion to the rest of its body. It stood on all fours, and its face resembled that of a fox's. Thin reddish brown hair covered its long scrawny body and its eyes were evil and menacing__._

_A deep growl arose from its throat and it sniffed the ground before loping forward. It ran down the slope and leapt toward Naruto, who screamed in fright. The beast pinned him to the ground and he struggled to gain freedom; lashing out with his limbs. The creature's finger-like claws raked toward him and Naruto used all his strength to push the creature away. It snarled in rage and he squirmed away across the wet ground as the creature ran forward again. Naruto screamed as the monsters huge fangs penetrated his right rib cage. Adrenaline flowed through his body and he used the last of his strength to kick the beast in the face. His boot caught the monster's nose and it yelped like a dog before spinning away and running into the woods; leaving a trail of blood in it's wake._

_Naruto held back the tears he felt springing to his eyes and he held tightly onto the gaping wound on his stomach. He grabbed the large mark painfully and groaned; tucking his legs into his chest. After several minutes he took a deep breath and slowly arched into a crouch. Taking another breath he stood up; crying out in pain before stumbling home. The pain grew and grew, and his eyesight flickered. A sweat broke out on his forehead, and his temperature raged in the cool night air. His breathing became hoarse the closer he got to home, and finally his eyes were able to find the distant lights of his house. Hope filled his body and he ran the rest of the way before stumbling into the kitchen._

"_Naru is that you?" Maiko called quietly without turning. His father was sitting at the bench with a newspaper and he growled loudly._

"_Of course it's fuckin' him. Who else would it be?" Anger flared within Naruto's failing body, and he collapsed to the floor. Pain surged within his body and he convulsed against his will. "Get up you idiot." His Dad said glaring down at the boy. Finally his mother turned; the entire side of her delicate face bruised. She screamed and dropped the plate she was holding._

"_Ryota help him! He's been attacked!" She screamed grabbing for the phone. Ryota growled angrily._

"_Serves him right for running off at this time o' night!" he slurred, obviously drunk. Maiko's anger flared and she began to retort in defence of her son when the end of the line clicked to life._

"_Hello… I need… an ambulance. My son… has been attacked by something!" She said between gasps. The other end began to calmly speak instructions, and Naruto's body stopped convulsing. Ryota became angry._

"_Put that fucking phone down! We don't need the stinking ambulance over here." He yelled; fearfully looking at the bruises which covered his wife's face. The anger of being ignored by his father and the strain of trying not to pass out was too much for Naruto and somewhere something in him snapped. He began shivering and his body began to morph. He screamed in pain as his legs and forearms became more masculine and the bones began to lengthen. His tight clothes tore around the shoulders and back as his shoulders broadened and a tail began to form. All over the sounds of snapping bones could be heard as the joints clicked around and into place. The pain was white hot as the skin on his palms became hard and calloused, and his nails became sharp claws. A great wave of fur began to break out across his body feeling as if he was being pricked repeatedly with one thousand needles. His jaw elongated and his skin became pale. His father swore and stood up; throwing down his paper._

"_What sort of a fuckin' trick do you think this is?" He screamed fearfully and kicked his son in the back. He instantly turned to his wife who was still listening to the lady on the phone. He walked over and pushed her again. "Didn't I say leave it?" He screamed throwing the phone to the ground, causing his wife to cringe in fear._

_Suddenly Naruto's body stopped moving, and the large gangly form stood up painfully. A deep growl escaped its throat, and the fully morphed body leaped up, pulling his father away from his screaming mother. She cringed back against the counter as the creature who had been Naruto, pushed Ryota to the ground. It growled loudly and glared into Ryota's face; its muscles rippling. Suddenly its paw pulled back, and in an instant it raked deep wounds into the man's strong features. He howled in pain and his body swayed as if fighting an internal battle before collapsing in pain to the ground._

_The creature suddenly seemed to stop and it turned away from the dead body before grinning evilly toward Maiko. It flung itself towards her, pushing her to the ground; his jaws biting deeply into her throat. One last scream escaped her mouth before her body slumped limply to the ground. Suddenly the monsters red eyes flickered back to a deep blue and tears began to form in the corners. A low mournful howl escaped before the heartbroken creature fell to the ground. It slowly began to change back into the form of a small boy, and the body lay unconscious on the floor; his arms draped around his mother's dead body._

_---_

Naruto's eyes flew open and he let out a scream that could wake the dead. Sasuke looked up sharply when he heard his mate scream and watched as Naruto hastily tumbled out of bed and threw up in a nearby bin. Naruto wiped his mouth and huddled against the bed, beginning to sob uncontrollably. Iruka rushed over and knelt in front of Naruto.

"Naru? Are you okay? What happened?" He asked gently reaching out to touch Naruto's shoulder. Naruto flinched and looked up at Iruka, his big blue eyes full with tears.

"It was me Iruka. After so many years of wondering how my parents died I finally found out. It was me! I murdered them." He screamed and began to sob heavily into in hands. Sasuke was in shock. _Naruto murdered his parents?_ He thought disbelievingly. Iruka sighed and gathered Naruto into his arms. He motioned for Sasuke to climb onto the bed and placed Naruto between his thighs. Sasuke immediately tightened his hold on Naruto and Naruto buried his face into Sasuke's shirt. Iruka sat in the chair beside the bed.

"Naruto while it's true that you did kill Maiko and Ryota that night, it's not your fault. The combined stress of living in an abusive family and being bitten by that fox caused your demon to come out early; there was nothing you could do to stop it. You were just a little boy. Do you understand me?" he asked pleadingly. Naruto peaked out from between Sasuke's arms and nodded meekly. Iruka sighed with relief. "Good. There's something else you should know as well, Maiko and Ryota weren't your parents." Naruto sat up sharply and stared at Iruka in disbelief. "They were just a couple who couldn't conceive and found you in a clearing one night. The truth is that you are the only son of the demon Kushina Uzumaki and the angel Minato Namikaze." The entire room shifted uneasily and everybody besides Tsunade, Kakashi, Sasuke and Jaraiya eyed Naruto wearily. Sasuke pulled Naruto closer.

"I don't care who his parents were. He's my mate and I love him. Anyone have a problem with that?" He growled threateningly. They all shook their heads no. Naruto gazed up at him in bewilderment then a slow smile spread across his face and he nuzzled Sasuke's cheek.

"I love you too Sasuke." He whispered and kissed Sasuke's neck. Before Sasuke could loose control Hinata stepped forward.

"I-I don't care e-either." Hinata stuttered and Ino and Sakura nodded in agreement. Lee swept forward and bowed to Naruto.

"My great friend. I do not care who birthed you and I shall remain by your side no matter what." He exclaimed and pulled a pose. Naruto giggled and smiled a thank you. He glanced over to Neji and Shino who both nodded. He noticed that Ino had a rather hesitant expression on her face. Sakura nudged her in the side and she shook her head before smiling at Naruto encouragingly. Finally he looked at Gaara, who shrugged and nodded.

"Why did I want to kill Gaara so badly today?" Naruto asked suddenly. Kakashi chuckled.

"Long story short you were already quite out of control because of Sai so when Gaara, a racoon demon, the sworn enemy of all fox demons shows up of course you're going to try and kill him. Gaara also reacted on instinct and wanted to kill you too." Kakashi said glancing over at Gaara who nodded.

"I was surprised to see a fox demon after I thought they had all gone extinct and I reacted on my instincts." He said simply "I don't care that you're a fox demon now and neither do I care that your father was an angel." He finished looking away. Naruto smiled and nodded a thank you.

"So how did I happen?" he asked and everyone turned to Tsunade who sighed and took a seat beside Iruka.

"Well about seventeen years ago your mother and father met at a meeting between the demon and angel kingdoms. They said it was love at first sight and ordered me to be their doctor for when you were born. Never before has there been a child between an angel and a demon and they were worried about what would happen to you. When you were born your demon and angel genes were fighting with each other for dominance and you were in constant pain. I sort out the great Jaraiya and asked him if he would be able to seal one of the chakras away. He said he could and a week after your birth he placed that seal on your stomach on you. It balanced the chakras and kept them under control. There was a great uproar when the nations found out about your birth and everyone wanted you dead but your parents wouldn't have it. This started the Great War between the angels and the demons and sadly your mother perished in a fight. Your father sacrificed his life to send you to earth and everybody believed that you had died along with him." She explained then turned to Iruka "I guess that's when Maiko and Ryota found him and took him in as their own." She said and Iruka nodded.

"After their death the police put Naruto into the local orphanage where he lived for two years." He said then looked over to Kakashi. Kakashi returned his look and cleared his throat.

"Tsunade contacted me soon after you disappeared and I spent the first ten years of your life searching for you. I finally got a big tip and followed it to the Suna Orphanage, there I overhead a conversation between two passer-bys and decided to pretend to be a child worker. I also freed the other children so that I wouldn't rouse suspicion and got you adopted by Iruka who was a close friend of mine that I knew I could trust not to turn you over to the authorities." He explained and gave Iruka a thankful glance. "Jaraiya said that your seal would deteriorate when you reached maturity and that he would have to place a new one on you but I guess we were too late for that." He said remembering what had happened. Sasuke shuddered and pulled Naruto closer. Ino looked up suddenly.

"So Naruto's half demon and half angel?" she questioned, Kakashi looked at her uninterested.

"Yes Ino, I thought we already established that." He said and Ino blushed.

"No I mean because Naruto has angel in him he's got to be good at music right?" she asked quickly. Kakashi nodded.

"Yes angels have a natural affinity for music and their voices can evoke multiple emotions from you." He explained. Ino nodded and jumped up, pointing a finger at Naruto.

"I _knew_ you were too good at music." She exclaimed and Sakura sat forward quickly.

"You're right!" she cried "We should have noticed that day when Kurinai made us all sing." She exclaimed. Shino nodded.

"And what about the day when he played all of those instruments perfectly?" he added. Everyone nodded in agreement and Naruto buried his head into Sasuke's shirt embarrassedly. Sasuke smirked.

"I always knew there was something angelic about you." He whispered into Naruto's ear, causing him to shudder pleasantly.

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***Sniff* alas my story is coming close to the end! Review please! and thankyou for reading!**

Hotaru~

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	13. Chapter 12

**Heeello! This morning we have another instalment to my story! Thannk you for all the reviews!!**

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**~Chapter Twelve~**

The next morning Sasuke took Naruto back to his house and allowed everyone to stay over for as long as was needed. The entire day was spent moving Naruto's stuff into the huge mansion and explaining to Kiba that his brother was a demon. Luckily he accepted the fact with ease and they spent the rest of the day gobbling down Temari's famous cookies.

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Naruto awoke curled up in Sasuke's arms and a soft smile fell gently across his face. He glanced up at Sasuke and studied his features carefully. Sasuke's dark hair and eyelashes stood out strongly from his pale skin and Naruto reached up to caress Sasuke's smooth cheek. Naruto smiled when Sasuke sighed in contentment and a small smile graced his thin pale lips. He pulled Naruto closer and buried his face in Naruto's hair. Naruto giggled quietly but paused when he became fully aware of Sasuke's body pressed fully against his own. He shuddered and used his hands to explore Sasuke's smooth back. Sasuke moaned and Naruto grinned with excitement, he moved a hand to Sasuke's side and slowly slid it down Sasuke's body until it rested on his thigh. He rubbed it lightly and Sasuke shuddered, Naruto moved his hand around the front of Sasuke's body and almost yelped in surprise; Sasuke was hard. Naruto purred and gently stroked the outline of Sasuke's arousal. Sasuke moaned loudly and shifted so he was lying on his back. Naruto's eyes hungrily gazed at Sasuke's form and was about to straddle him when Sasuke's eyes fluttered open. Naruto jumped in surprise and quickly shook his head, _What the hell was that?_ He asked himself then blushed profusely when he remembered what he had been doing.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked groggily and looked over to see his mate with an adorable blush on his face. Naruto glanced up at him, his blush growing redder.

"G-good morning Sasuke." He whispered "I uh have to go see Iruka now bye." Naruto said quickly, jumping from the bed and running out the door. Sasuke looked confusedly after him and suddenly widened his eyes. He looked down in shock at the tent in his pants and quickly shot up.

"Oh shit." He whispered and a small blush spread across his face.

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"Iruka!!" Naruto shouted and ran into the kitchen where he found Iruka and Kakashi drinking coffee. Iruka looked up in surprise and sniffed the air cautiously. He grinned at Naruto.

"Good morning to you too Naruto." He said with a smirk. Naruto ran over to him hurriedly.

"Iruka you have to help me! I just did something really weird." He said frantically and started flailing his arms around in the air. Iruka looked at him carefully, got up, put his cup into the sink and lead the still flailing Naruto into the lounge room.

"Naru calm down and tell me what happened." He said before forcing Naruto to take a seat on the couch and sitting next to him. Naruto blushed heavily and looked down at his hands.

"Well this morning when I woke up I realized how close me and Sasuke were and before I knew it I was touching him in…private places and he was responding and I got really excited and…god this is so embarrassing." He whispered and hid his face in his hands. Iruka looked at him with a smile on his face.

"That's completely normal Naruto. You know, now that you have changed, your bodies going to want to mate with someone soon. You're going to go into something called heat and that will attract Sasuke and hopefully you two will 'seal the deal' and belong to each other. This morning you were experiencing the beginnings of your heat. But don't worry you won't go into heat for at least another few days." Iruka explained carefully and Naruto blushed even more.

"Okay, I guess I can live with that." Naruto whispered and Iruka smiled encouragingly.

"So how did Sasuke react?" he asked with a grin. Naruto blushed.

"He was asleep actually." He said sheepishly and reached up to scratch the back of his neck. Iruka chuckled deeply and gave Naruto a big hug.

"I'm proud of you Naruto." He whispered "Not only are you taking all of this in stride but you've found yourself a mate who will love and protect you." He released Naruto from the hug and grinned again. Naruto blushed deeply.

"Thank you Iruka." He whispered and dived at Iruka for another hug.

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Sai shivered and looked up at the orange haired man standing before him.

"You're sure about this Sai?" he asked and Sai nodded quickly.

"I'm positive Pein; he defeated me easily and used the blue magic of the angels." He said in shame. Pein looked at him menacingly.

"Well of course he defeated you, you're weak Sai." He said with contempt before his expression brightened "But with his power I'll be unstoppable." He added. "Send Zetsu and Kisame for him." He ordered and Sai nodded before scurrying off. Pein smiled.

"Naruto Uzumaki, your powers will soon be mine."

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Later that morning Sasuke approached Naruto cautiously.

"Listen Naruto." He started and Naruto looked up at him curiously. "About this morning…" he trailed off and looked desperately at his feet. Naruto blushed deeply.

"Sorry about that Sasuke." He whispered and Sasuke looked up in surprise "I couldn't help myself and I touched you without your permission." He blushed deeply and Sasuke's expression changed to a smirk "But Iruka explained to me that it was because I'm going to go into heat soon. Is that okay?" he asked. Sasuke smirked deeply and desire spread through his body, he had forgotten that Naruto would go into heat because of maturity and found that he couldn't wait.

"Its fine Naruto, I actually wanted to find you so that I could apologize about this morning. But this is good." He smirked and leaned in to give Naruto a hug. He pulled back and gazed into Naruto's eyes, once more completely struck by his beauty. Unconsciously Naruto began to lean forward and breathed in Sasuke's scent. Sasuke put a hand beneath Naruto's chin and lifting his head up, connected their lips in a kiss. Naruto's eyes widened minutely before fluttering shut. He leaned into Sasuke's grasp and put his arms around Sasuke's neck. Sasuke groaned and wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist. He swept his tongue over Naruto's lips and suckled at them, begging for entrance. Naruto opened his mouth slowly and Sasuke delved his tongue into Naruto's warm cavern. Naruto melted into Sasuke's grip and shyly touched his tongue with Sasuke's, causing him to moan. Naruto grew slightly bolder and gently suckled on Sasuke's tongue, grazing his teeth over it slowly. Sasuke's knees almost buckled and arousal swept through his entire body. He pulled Naruto impossibly closer and took complete control of the kiss. Their tongue's entwined together in a fierce battle and Naruto shivered uncontrollably from the effects of the passionate kiss. When they finally pulled apart Naruto was completely dazed and was blushing heavily. Sasuke also had a light tinge of pink on his cheeks as he swooped in and pecked Naruto lovingly on the lips. Naruto smiled up at him.

"I love you so much Sasuke." He said truthfully and leaned up to nuzzle Sasuke's nose with his own lovingly. Sasuke's entire being soared with emotion, he quickly grabbed Naruto around the waist and spun him around into a dip. His face hovered inches above Naruto's and he smiled.

"And I love you Naruto." He whispered and nipped at Naruto's ear. Naruto shuddered in desire and pressed his body up to Sasuke's. They spent the rest of the day sharing loving kisses and snuggling close together.

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Naruto stepped out of the shower and grabbing a towel began to dry himself off. He looked at his baggy shirt and jeans in sudden disgust and wandered out to find Iruka. He found him in the study with Kakashi.

"Iruka, can you take me shopping?" he asked, tilting his head to the side cutely. Iruka chuckled.

"Of course I will but why Naruto?" he asked curiously. Naruto looked down in disgust at his baggy clothing.

"I really want new clothes." He exclaimed "I mean I don't know why but I find these clothes disgusting all of a sudden." He said, tilting his head. Iruka laughed again.

"Oh I see, don't worry Naruto it's just another side effect of you going into heat." He explained and stood up. "Come on, if we go now we'll make it back before lunch."

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Sasuke stared in amazement at his mate who was standing before him. Naruto wore tight black jeans with chains hanging from the belt loops, which hugged his shapely legs and a fitted black and green striped hoody shirt. A pair of black and white converses adorned his feet, one of which was turned cutely to the side nervously. His golden hair had been cut and styled so that it spiked up in a just got out of bed look and fell neatly over and around his eyes softly. Sasuke shook his head in amazement as his eyes traced Naruto's girlish curves, heat pooling in his stomach.

"Do you like it?" Naruto asked him nervously and Sasuke chuckled amusingly. He stalked forward and grabbed Naruto's tightly clothed waist.

"Naruto I love it." He said happily and swooped in to claim his mate's lips.

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Naruto looked up from the book he was reading when he heard a knock on his and Sasuke's bedroom door.

"Come in." he called and watched as Tsunade entered the room carefully and looked around.

"Hn. That brat's not that bad at decorating after all." She muttered before coming to sit beside Naruto. "Hello Naruto." She greeted and ruffled his hair. Naruto grinned cutely at her and placed his book on the bed. "How are you feeling?" she questioned and Naruto tilted his head in thought.

"Fine!" he exclaimed with a grin and Tsunade smiled again before looking away.

"Sorry to bring this up Naru but I heard about your mother's necklace." She said sadly, causing Naruto's smile to drop away immediately. He sat up from where he was laying on his stomach and brought his knees up to his chest.

"I am going to kill Sai." He said murderously then glanced up at Tsunade. "Old Lady why are you talking about my mother's necklace?" he questioned. Tsunade glowered at him before lightly smacking him across the head. "Ow! What was that for?" he exclaimed and Tsunade glared.

"You know full well brat." She said with a huff. Naruto grinned deviously.

"But Old Lady Tsunade!" he exclaimed "It's just my pet name for you~" he said cutely and widened his eyes innocently. Tsunade couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face and reached out to ruffle his hair again. Naruto dodged it artfully and glomped onto her. She smiled at him and reached into her pocket.

"When you where born your mother gave me a matching necklace to yours in honour of me being named your Godmother." She said gently and Naruto gasped loudly.

"No way!" he shouted and hugged her tighter "Does that mean I can call you Grandma Tsunade?" he asked and Tsunade squeezed him in pleasure.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." She whispered happily before setting Naruto back. She brought her hand up and opened her fist. Lying on her palm was an identical pale blue necklace to that of Naruto's shattered one. Naruto looked up at her with widened eyes and shook his head. "I know it's not the same but I would like you to have this Naruto." She said.

"I couldn't!" Naruto exclaimed but Tsunade shook her head firmly.

"Naruto it would do more good for you then me." She said firmly and before Naruto could react she had slipped it over his head. The same sense of completeness washed over Naruto and two large tears rolled down his cheeks. He stared up at Tsunade before latching onto her again.

"Thank you so much Grandma Tsunade." He sobbed and Tsunade let a small smile spread across her face before pulling him to her chest tightly.

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Gaara's face was marred with a deep frown as he walked down one of the many hallways of the Uchiha mansion. He and Naruto were natural enemies, causing Naruto to have an instant dislike for Gaara's scent, including his pheromones. _So that is why it didn't work between Naruto and I_ Gaara thought unhappily. Gaara let down his unemotional mask he'd had up since the incident with Naruto and sighed deeply. All he wanted was a mate; to finally love and be loved in return. He sighed again and went to continue walking down the hallway when he felt a mental pull to enter the door to his left. Gaara frowned and opened to door to reveal a vast library. He entered the room of knowledge and noticed that Neji was sitting on a large cushiony lounge reading a book. Gaara smiled at the sight _I knew Neji wouldn't be able to resist Sasuke's library for long_ he thought, smirking. He had been so busy getting Naruto's attention since he had gone through maturity that he hadn't thought of any other possibilities. As Gaara walked towards the engrossed Neji he couldn't help but notice Neji's aristocratic features and the way the sun shone from his long glossy hair. Gaara found that he had the urge to run his fingers through that hair; to see if it was as silky as it looked. Neji looked up as he felt the presence of another being in the library and saw that Gaara was looking at him intensely.

"Gaara." He greeted with a nod. Gaara took a seat beside Neji and continued to study him more. Neji was strong, came from the branch of a prestigious family and was always calm and collected. He may seem unemotional and pompous on the outside but he and Gaara had been through enough situations that Gaara had come to know the caring compassionate side of Neji under all of those masks. Neji had always been there for Gaara and was the first person he would unconsciously call whenever something happened. "Gaara you're staring." Neji said and Gaara noticed the tiny pink blotches on the Hyuuga's cheeks. Instead of answering Gaara gripped Neji's chin and turned him so they're faces met. He delighted in the fact that Neji's lavender eyes had widened minutely in surprise and studied the Hyuuga's flushed expression. I wonder…? He thought and leant forward to seal their lips together. That's when he felt it, the lightning that spread through his body, the fireworks going off in his mind and that sense of completeness one had once they had found what was truly theirs. He felt Neji tense slightly and was surprised when he began to kiss Gaara back. Gaara swept his tongue over Neji's lips and was granted access to the wet cavern. After staking out his new found territory Gaara pulled away from Neji and leant his forehead against Neji's.

"Will you be my mate?" He whispered and Neji smiled softly.

"Finally." Neji whispered in return and leant up to kiss Gaara again.

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All too soon it was Monday again and the gang walked into the school yard. Ino and Sakura slammed open the doors and stood aside as Naruto and Sasuke walked in holding hands, followed by Neji and Gaara who had an arm wrapped possessively around his mate. Shino walked in slowly as did Kiba and Hinata. After they had all passes through Sakura and Ino released the doors and followed behind. As they walked down the halls, people practically fell to their knees before Naruto. They stared in wonder as a beautiful blonde fox demon with amazingly impossible blue eyes stalked past them smugly. Tight jeans hugged his hips and thighs and a tight orange shirt adorned his slim body. The cloak Kiba had given him for his birthday hung from his shoulder's and swirled around his legs elegantly. Whispers of disbelief and praise filled the corridors and Naruto smirked at them all before continuing down the hall with his head held high proudly. As they entered the music room Kurinai dropped her books in surprise and did a double take at the beauty before her. She scrambled to pick her books from the ground and straightened up looking frazzled.

"Ah Naruto, good to see you." She said, flustered. Naruto grinned charmingly at her and Kurinai shook her head quickly. "I have a surprise for you!" she exclaimed with a smile and Naruto titled his head to the side in question.

"What is it Kurinai?" he asked excitedly and began to bounce on the soles of his feet. Kurinai laughed lightly and pulled a sheet of music from her folder.

"I wrote you a new song." She said with contained excitement and Naruto grabbed the paper quickly.

"Thank you so much Kurinai!" he exclaimed "Can I play it now?" he asked and Kurinai chuckled.

"You can play it whenever you want Naruto." She said. Naruto jumped around excitedly before running up on stage towards the piano. He put the papers against the stand on the grand piano and took a seat. He scanned over the musical notes carefully; committing everything to memory and closing his eyes, began to play. As his fingers flew over the keys a haunting melody rose from the piano and reverberated throughout the room. Kurinai gasped and clutched at her heart as she listened to the music she had written. She watched Naruto's face and was surprised to see that his eyes were closed. She turned to the rest of the group and saw that they had noticed as well and were all looking expectantly at the stage. Sasuke had a smug smirk upon his face as he watched his mate playing the beautiful melody effortlessly. Suddenly Naruto and the stage around him began to glow a beautiful golden colour. Naruto's speed picked up and suddenly he was playing a completely different song; right from his heart. It spoke of love, friendship and acceptance. Once again Naruto's ability with music had pulled tears from his viewers. The glow seemed to brighten and suddenly ghost-like feathers were falling all around Naruto, covering him in its angelic display. Gentle smiles fell over their faces as they watched Naruto; their own little angel, play his heart out on the grand piano.

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That same day, as Naruto was walking towards his group from the cafeteria he tilted his head when he noticed that everyone had begun to get to their feet angrily. He started when a hand clamped over his shoulder. Naruto whirled around and came face to face with his tormentor; Sai. Sai looked absolutely shocked.

"So it is you?" he questioned and ran his eyes over Naruto's figure. Naruto growled at the unwanted attention and grabbed Sai by the throat. Sai's eyes widened fearfully "I'm sorry about..y-your mother's n-neck-lace Nar-ruto." He whimpered out. Naruto's grip tightened and he lifted Sai high off the ground.

"You will regret the day you messed with me Sai." Naruto growled out and threw Sai to the ground. Sai quickly scrambled to his feet and looked around fearfully only to see that Naruto wasn't there. By that time Sasuke and the gang had made their way to the commotion and people had gathered around them in a circle. Suddenly Naruto appeared in front of Sai and ducked the startled punch sent his way. He grinned and disappeared again only to appear behind him, he punched Sai in the back lightly, making sure to get a certain pressure point. Sai whirled around fearfully and was met by nothingness. Without warning Naruto was by his side and had hit another pressure point. This continued until Sai slumped to the ground, unable to move. Naruto turned to him.

"You Sai, will never come near me or my friends again." He commanded and Sai nodded quickly. "You will never hurt another person ever again; physically or mentally." He said fiercely and Sai nodded again. Naruto leaned close "If you do even one of these things _ever_ again, I will know Sai. And I won't hesitate to teach you a lesson." He threatened and Sai nodded frantically again. Naruto nodded, satisfied, then quickly swept around and punched Sai hard across the face. "That's for my mother's necklace." He whispered and stepped away. Sai groaned in pain as Naruto nodded at Gaara who grinned and sent out his sand in thin tendrils. Sasuke stepped forwards and grabbed Sai by the collar.

"If I ever see you looking at my mate like that again I _will_ kill you." He said with conviction and Sai's eyes widened and he shook his head frantically. Sasuke smirked and stepped back as Gaara's sand tendrils wrapped around Sai motionless body and lifted him high off the ground, towards the nearest tree. He purposefully manoeuvred Sai so that he shirt snagged on a branch and left him hanging there.

"Hey!" Sai shouted in panic "I said I was sorry! Get me down from here! I-I don't like h-heights!" he shouted frantically but was ignored. Naruto noticed a small kid that he had seen Sai bullying standing in the crowd. He ushered the kid over to him and ignoring Sai's screams gave him a glob of dirt he had added water too.

"Have fun." He said with a wink and turned to walk off. The kid grinned and threw the mud at Sai's face. It hit with sickening noise and Sai shook his head. Water demons all around began to add water to the dirt on the ground and all of Sai's previous victims delighted in throwing the sloppy mush at Sai's helpless figure. Sasuke turned away from the commotion and turned towards his mate. Naruto looked back at him and gave a half-hearted grin.

"I wanted to kill him Sasuke." He admitted and Sasuke nodded and grabbed his mate's hand.

"I know Naruto, but you did the 'right' thing." He said unhappily and Naruto giggled. Naruto gave Sasuke a quick kiss and they all walked to sit underneath the birch tree.

* * *

**Ahh there we go. I know I could have done better with the scene between Naruto and Sai but I don't know I just couldn't think. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter and I promise the next will be very exciting! I'll update ASAP but right now I have to go with my Mum. Please review and I thank you all for reading!**

**Hotaru~**

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	14. Chapter 13

**And it just so happens that this Chapter is the unlucky number thirteen. It's a conspiracy! Anyway, thank you all for the reviews and i hope you enjoy this chapter~**

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**~Chapter Thirteen~**

Naruto stepped into his and Sasuke's bedroom to grab the book he wanted to show Ino. He walked over to the bookcase and was scanning the bookshelf when he felt a chilling breeze. He turned around in confusion at the open window. He and Sasuke had agreed that they would keep the windows shut as it was getting cooler. Naruto walked over to the window and slid it shut; he was closing the drapes when he sensed something moving behind him. With a cry he spun around only to find…nothing. He scanned the dimly lit room, searching for something his instinct told him was there. He cried out when a being suddenly rose from the floor, he was wearing a sweeping black cloak with red clouds on it. Naruto stared in shock at the man whose yellow eyes stared back. Half of his face looked to be painted black while the other half was white. A hand swept through his green locks and gestured to some unknown someone. There was a burst of mist and from it stepped an extremely tall haunting figure. Naruto shuddered when he took in the man's blue skin and shark like features. He was dressed similarly to the green-haired man and was holding a large sword wrapped in white bandages. His white eyes narrowed at Naruto and he grinned wickedly; showing a full set of sharp shark like teeth. Naruto took a step back and looked around for an escape frantically. The shark man sneered.

"Hey Zetsu, looks like the little one wants to run. Perhaps I should cut off a leg or two?" the shark man questioned as if he were talking about the weather. Zetsu looked at him impassively and turned back to Naruto.

"**As delicious as he looks Kisame**." His black side began "Pein wouldn't like it if we cut him in any way." His white side finished. Kisame pouted and rested his sword on his large shoulder.

"Well do you want to get him or should I? I'm getting itchy to kill something" He said fingering his sword "and my hand just might slip." He said, looking at Naruto with a smirk. Naruto gulped and took another step back; he slammed against the wall and started to feel like a cornered animal.

"Who are you?" he questioned, trying to buy time. _How can I signal Sasuke without making it obvious?_ He thought frantically and looked around the room again. Zetsu stepped towards him.

"We are **Zet**su." He introduced and seemed to roll his eyes at a thought he had. Naruto looked at him in confusion.

"We?" he questioned and tilted his head to the side.

"**He's cute Zetsu, can we eat him?**" the black side of Zetsu asked. "No Zetsu, Pein wants him alive." The white half answered. The black half frowned "**So mean.**" Zetsu shook his head and turned back to Naruto. "That is none of your business. Now you can come with us peacefully or we can use force." He said, indicating Kisame who grinned ferally. Naruto shivered and made a run for the door. Zetsu sighed and disappeared through the floor. Before Naruto could reach the door Zetsu fused through the wall and grabbed Naruto by the wrist harshly. He shoved Naruto back to Kisame who caught him by the back of the neck. Naruto's instincts kicked in and he spun from Kisame's grip and bit him in the arm. Kisame grinned at him and tapped his skin.

"Shark skin is very tough." He said with a smirk. Naruto growled lowly and bit harder. Kisame gave a shout when he felt Naruto's sharp incisors tear through his skin and shook him off. Naruto cried out when he landed against the window pane harshly but it was cut short when Zetsu's white hand covered his mouth.

"**As much as we like to hear you scream** we're sure you wouldn't want your friends and family to be hurt right?" He whispered in Naruto's ear. Naruto shook his head in fear and watched as Kisame nursed his wound.

"Zetsu, he's getting on my nerves can I kill him?" he asked and Zetsu shook his head. Suddenly Naruto was pulled into a tight embrace and cried out when he felt himself sinking into the floor. In a last ditch effort he punched the window with as much strength as he could muster; causing it to shatter with a loud crash that resounded throughout the large house.

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Sasuke, Neji, Ino, Sakura, Gaara, Lee and Shino were sitting in the lounge room waiting for Naruto to return when they heard a loud thump from upstairs. Ino looked up in confusion.

"What was that?" she asked just when the sound of glass shattering sounded from upstairs. Sasuke sprung up from his seat and dashed up the stairs at surprising speed followed closely by the rest of the group. He practically kicked the door from the hinges and looked on in shock to find Naruto no where in sight and a large hole where the window should be. He ran to the window and looked out of it in the hopes of seeing a flash of gold. The night was dark and not a creature moved.

"NARUTO!" Sasuke screamed in agony and fell to the ground.

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Tsunade, Jaraiya, Kakashi and Iruka looked at the group of teenagers in front of them.

"Sasuke are you sure you can smell out his scent?" Iruka asked and Sasuke nodded his head quickly.

"I'd know the scent anywhere." He growled out. Kakashi turned to Jaraiya and Tsunade.

"Alright I need you two to stay here so if there's anyone injured you can heal them." He turned to the teenagers "I need Hinata, Ino and Sakura to stay away from the fighting and only use their magic in dire situations." He instructed "Shino, Lee, Sasuke and Neji you are to stay behind me and Iruka and not be brash." He looked directly at Sasuke and Sasuke growled.

"Can we go already!" he spat angrily and Kakashi nodded calmly.

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Naruto opened his eyes groggily and moaned when pain reverberated throughout his entire body. He heard a chuckle from beside him and tried to blink the tears from his eyes.

"Ah so you're awake." A man with bright orange hair said in amusement "I am Pein." He said. Naruto cried out when a tight stinging pain shot through his neck when he tried to move it.

"What? Where am I?" he asked in confusion. Pein chuckled.

"You're in my house." He answered and Naruto's head swam. "As for what, I'm going to slowly and painfully drain you of your angel powers, half-breed." He sneered. Naruto felt emotional pain shoot through his chest and his eyes teared up again.

"How?" he mumbled, his head finally cleared and he took in his surroundings. He was in a bare, dimly lit concrete room. Somewhere in a corner he could hear water dripping at a steady pace and he shuddered when he noticed the numerous amounts of torture devices lining the walls. Fear started to clench tightly at his chest and he struggled to move away from the tall man. Naruto gasped as white hot pain shot through his body from hundreds of different places. He glanced around and was shocked to see that he was tied up against a stake, crucifixion style. Pain throbbed through his body again and he noticed that not only was he only wearing boxers but his body was covered in black metal pikes gouging painfully into his skin. There were at least twenty in each arm that went right through his muscles and grazed against his bones. Twenty-five were in each leg and five were sticking painfully through his ribs. Several spikes were in each ear and at least two pierced his throat. He couldn't heal because the black metal was blocking the skin from sewing back together. He gasped in agony as more feeling came back into his body and his mind became more aware. He heard another deep chuckle and tiredly glared at Pein.

"As you have probably noticed there are over one hundred chakra sticks in your body. When I say so they will begin to drain all of your chakra and power away and transfer it to me. Once this process is over I'll kill you and dump your body somewhere where your friends and family can find you." He chuckled evilly and Naruto's heart clenched. _Sasuke, Iruka, Kiba, Kakashi, Ino, Lee, Sakura, Neji, Hinata, Gaara and Shino I don't want you to see me like this. I'm so sorry _he thought sadly. Pein chuckled again and conjured a chair from the darkness, taking a seat he said ""I want you to feel pain, to think about pain, to accept pain, to know pain." And suddenly the pain in Naruto's body intensified tenfold. He screamed in agony and could actually feel the chakra being pulled forcefully from his body.

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Kakashi was driving three times over the speed limit as he listened to Sasuke's frantic directions.

"STOP." Sasuke yelled loudly and Kakashi stamped on the breaks heavily. Sasuke flung the door open and they all piled from the car. The vehicle behind them also skidded to a halt and Iruka and the rest piled out. They all gathered behind Sasuke as he sniffed the air carefully. Suddenly he started running and they all followed him at a speeding gallop. Sasuke veered to the right sharply and ran through a dark alley. They followed him through a maze of alleys until they finally came to a skidding halt in front of a large decrepit warehouse. Sasuke sniffed the air once more and nodded his head.

"He's definitely in there." He said gasping. Kakashi nodded and turned to the group.

"Okay guys whoever took Naruto possibly has guards. I need you all to be careful and as silent as possible. I don't want to raise the alarm until we're sure of where Naruto is." He said seriously and surveyed the group, they all nodded "And remember be careful." He added and motioned for Iruka to picklock the door. Iruka nodded and stepped up to the padlocked door. He examined the lock and took out a master key. He placed it beside the keyhole and concentrated on making his water enter the hole. After it was in he placed the master key in and turned his water into ice. With a flick of the wrist the padlock unlocked and fell to the dust. He opened the door and stepped back with a grim smile. The group walked in a single file and crept into the warehouse.

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Kakashi peered around a corner discreetly and saw yet another guard pacing the corridor. He waited until the guards back was to him before dashing out from behind the wall. He flashed up behind the guard and simultaneously slipping his mask down and putting a hand over the guard's mouth, bit powerfully into the back of his neck. The guard's scream was muffled and soon he fell to the ground dead.

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Lee shot his head around a corner and quickly pulled it back. He signalled that there were two guards and Shino nodded. He placed his hands against the wall and began to crawl up the wall and onto the ceiling; he turned the corner and positioned himself above one of the guards. In one quick motion Shino was standing and slicing the guard's neck with a knife. At that same moment Lee ran around the corner at a speed unnoticeable to the human eye and pounced on the other guard; with a twist of his hands the guard's neck was broken.

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Hinata, Ino and Sakura were following closely behind Sasuke when Sakura sensed someone up ahead; she quickly grabbed Sasuke and looked at him meaningfully. He understood and crouched to the ground quickly. Just as the guard came into the light Sasuke pounced and the guard was looking into the Sharingan. Sasuke increased the power, keeping the guard paralysed and crushed his windpipe. He watched as the light slowly left the guards eyes.

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Neji, Iruka and Gaara dropped from the ceiling when five guards walked beneath them. Gaara's sand flew to their mouths and stopped any sound from exiting. With a flick of his wrists Iruka sent two spikes of ice through two of the guard's chests and they fell to the ground. Neji quickly pressed one's pressure points to immobilise him and then snapped his neck. Gaara's sand slowly encased the remaining two and completely crushed them.

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They all met up back at the door of the warehouse in fifteen minutes and Sasuke was ridged with anger.

"I can't smell him anymore; I think there's something in this place that's interfering with it." He said shakily. Iruka stepped forward.

"There was a giant concrete door with five guards in front of it. I think that might be it." He said. Kakashi nodded.

"Okay Iruka lead the way." He answered and within five minutes they were all in front of a huge concrete door. Kakashi cocked his head to the side "Did anyone else hear that?" he asked and everyone shook their heads. "Hinata can you make this door soundproof please?" he asked and Hinata did a quick spell, they waited for mere moments before an agonized scream reached there ears. Sasuke stiffened.

"That was Naruto." He growled and before anyone could react he had risen his foot and kicked the door clean off its reinforced hinges.

The group quickly piled inside and were horrified at the sight that met their eyes. Naruto was tied up to a stake crucifixion style in the middle of the dank room. He was stripped to his boxers and looked tremendously weak; his skin was an abnormal white and he was shaking with exertion. What terrified the group the most was the one hundred or so metal chakra drainers engraved deeply into Naruto's body. The wounds were weeping horribly and blood was dripping slowly down his body. Suddenly a man stepped from the shadows and chuckled evilly.

"My, oh, my Naruto I didn't know a half-breed like you could have friends, let alone this many." He grinned, intentionally insulting Naruto. Naruto moaned weakly and shook from the pain. Sasuke stepped forward angrily and prepared to attack but Kakashi grabbed his shoulder and held him back.

"Pein let Naruto go." He ordered sternly. Pein just chuckled.

"No I think I'll continue to drain Naruto of his delicious power until he's nothing but a useless shell; not that he's not useless right now." He sneered and spat in Naruto's direction. Anger roared within Sasuke and he wanted to rip Pein's body apart. Iruka also growled and crouched down to attack. Pein grinned at the action. "It's useless; now with Naruto's power I'm virtually unstoppable." And with that he sent a swirling blue fire ball at Iruka; it hit him square in the chest and sent him flying backwards. Hinata immediately rushed off to heal him and the fight began.

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Naruto watched helplessly as Kakashi's body fell to the ground for the sixth time; only he didn't get back up. Pein had Hinata, Ino and Sakura all behind a shield of angel magic; preventing them from helping their friends. Lee and Shino were knocked unconscious and Neji was trapped in one of the torture devices; Naruto was thankful that it wasn't turned on. Iruka rushed to Kakashi's side and hastily felt for a pulse; he sighed in relief and dragged Kakashi's unconscious body to the side of the room. Sasuke was beyond pissed, every time he got near Naruto Pein would send a shock blast that threw him across the room; although he had managed to break one of Pein's arms. He looked over at Gaara who had snuck around behind Pein and was slowly building up his sand. Sasuke kept Pein's attention and endured another shock blast that slammed his body against the concrete wall. Suddenly Gaara's sand fell in a huge tidal wave over the surprised Pein and began to immediately crush Pein's limbs. Sasuke was satisfied to hear something crack while picking himself off the floor. Without warning Gaara's sand burst into flames and rose in a large wave to surround Gaara's helpless form in 200 °C fire. Sasuke winced when he heard him scream in pain. Iruka tried to put the flames out by using his water but it turned to steam before reaching the flames. When the fire died down Naruto almost threw up at the sight of Gaara's charred form. Pein chuckled and shot out a whip of blue magic that grabbed a hold of Gaara unmercifully and slammed him into Iruka, the blue magic changed to an unbreakable rope that tied the two together tightly. Iruka started to struggle which only made the rope tighten and make Gaara cry out painfully; instead he opted for using his water to attempt to soothe Gaara's burns. Naruto could feel that he wasn't going to last much longer and screamed in agony as his chakra was stripped away from his heart.

"NARUTO!" Sasuke screamed and once again tried to get near him. Pein threw another blast at him and he was slammed into a wall unforgivingly. Naruto winced. He was sick of this; everyone was trying to help him but only ended up getting hurt themselves. He sighed and feeling faint began to pool all of the remaining chakra in his body into his stomach. Once it was all in one tight compacted ball Naruto released it in a shock wave with a scream. The discharge of chakra caused the chakra drainers to short-circuit and stop draining his chakra. It also forced the ropes bonding Naruto to disintegrate and he fell to the ground with a gasp. Sasuke looked on in worry as he saw Naruto try to stand up with failing muscles, shaking horribly with exertion.

"Stop it Pein." He whimpered "You have my power now, please just leave them be." He pleaded selflessly. Sasuke growled angrily when Pein approached Naruto and spat in his face.

"Don't talk to me you worthless half-breed." He sneered, a swirl of blue chakra appearing in his hand. Sasuke watched in horror as Pein drew back his hand and slammed the ball into Naruto's chest, sending him flying through the air. Sasuke's soul screamed and wind swept up to surround his body. Anger fuelled his power and he allowed his body to begin the painful process of turning pure demon. He dropped to his knees in pain as a great wave of shaggy grey fur broke out of his skin and spread to cover his entire body. His muscles bulged magnificently and the bones in his body melted away and grinded into new shapes. His clothing tore from his body as his shoulders broadened and his back arched. White hot pain slivered down his spine and his tail bone lengthened into a grey wolf tail. His nails grew alarmingly sharp and his jaw elongated, sharp canines piercing his lips. His eyes burned in fury with the full power of the Sharingan blazing into Pein's fear frozen form.

"You're an Uchiha?" Pein stuttered in fear and dropped to his knees. "Please forgive me, I didn't know." Sasuke stalked forward while growling terrifyingly and kept Pein locked in place with the Sharingan. "Please Uchiha-sama, please forgive me, I beg of you." He pleaded. With a sharp cry Sasuke lunged at Pein and ripped at his delicate skin with tooth and claw. Pein screamed in agony and tried desperately to get away; forgetting in his terror that he had the power to fend Sasuke off. Sasuke sensed that Pein's life was ebbing away and growled harshly; he wanted Pein to suffer; suffer for what he had done; suffer like Naruto had. With a glance at his mate's fallen form Sasuke roared with pain and anger. Unexpectedly Sasuke felt a burn begin behind his eyes and the Sharingan turned into the Mangekyo Sharingan, Sasuke grinned and stared deeply into Pein's terrified eyes. He summoned up the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan and sent Pein into a world of torture and suffering for three seconds that seemed to last for forty-two hours. Pein was repeatedly stabbed and chakra drainers were shoved into the weeping wounds. While he was being drained Sasuke continually ripped into his skin using his claws. Back in the present Sasuke took great pride in watching the life fade excruciatingly from Pein's eyes. Almost immediately Sasuke changed back to his original form and Pein's angel magic dropped. Ino ran to Gaara and Sakura and Hinata rushed over to Naruto's prone form, they picked him up carefully and carried him to lie beside Pein. Sasuke smiled wearily at Naruto then noticed that Naruto wasn't breathing,

"Hinata, Sakura, please do something." He rasped painfully and Sakura studied the chakra drainers.

"We can't remove these but we have to get Naruto's chakra back to him." She focused on Pein for several agonising minutes before turning to Hinata. "I got it, I'll pretend that I'm pulling poison from Pein's body but I'll really pull Naru's chakra and you pretend that you're healing Naru but you're putting his chakra back." She rushed. Hinata studied the bodies and hastily agreed; Sakura put one hand over Pein's heart and furrowed her brow heavily. After several seconds a purple glow appeared on her hand and Sakura grasped Hinata's hand. The purple glow travelled through her body and transferred to Hinata's were she focussed it in her hand and fed it through the chakra drainers. After two long minutes the process was finally complete. Sasuke watched anxiously and finally watched in elation as Naruto's chest gave a sharp heave and his eyes fluttered open delicately. Sasuke collapsed by his mate's side in tears and pulled him close to his chest, thanking Sakura and Hinata over and over again.

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Hinata forcefully opened Tsunade's door and Sasuke rushed in carrying Naruto. Tsunade and Jaraiya rushed into the sitting room and gasped sharply when they saw Naruto's weak form. As Hinata went outside to go collect the rest of the team, Tsunade directed Sasuke to lay Naruto down on the mattresses she had set up all over the sitting room floor and he grasp tightly onto Naruto's hand.

"Sasuke I need you to get my black medical bag in my study." She instructed and Sasuke growled loudly.

"I'm not leaving Naruto." He insisted and clutched Naruto's hand tightly. Tsunade nodded quickly.

"Jaraiya. My bag. Now." She ordered and Jaraiya ran off to the study. When he came back seconds later Tsunade ripped opened the bag and pulled out several jars of purplish liquid. "We need to get these drainers out now so he can heal. Even then I don't know if he will survive, chakra depletion is very risky." She said glancing at Sasuke "Now I'm going to need your help. Lubricate all of the wounds with this liquid." She held up a jar "Then after I've pulled a chakra drainer out I need you to pour the potion into the wounds." She said tersely and Sasuke nodded and grabbed a jar, Tsunade grabbed another. They both unscrewed the top and quickly applied it to all of Naruto's wounds. Sasuke felt horrible when he inspected the holes closely; they were a deep purplish yellow now and Sasuke could see the torn skin around the edges. They were weeping a thick yellow liquid and smelt like burnt flesh; Sasuke felt tears beginning to prick at the backs of his eyes. When they were finished Tsunade cast a glowing hand over each chakra drainer and pulled a pair of metal prongs from her bag. She waited until Sasuke had opened the remaining jar and then proceeded to slowly and carefully pull each chakra drainer out of Naruto's flesh. In his sleep Naruto flinched and whimpered painfully and when Sasuke poured the potion into the wound; most of which went all the way through Naruto's body, they made a horrible hissing sound and orange smoke rose precariously. After the last of the one hundred drainers was taken out of his body, Sasuke and Tsunade waited hopefully for Naruto's natural healing abilities to begin the healing process. After ten agonising minutes Tsunade was preparing to use her own magic, when finally Naruto's body began to glow an eerie blue. Almost immediately Naruto's wounds closed up and healed without a mark. Sasuke cried in relief and Tsunade clutched at her heart with tears in her eyes. Naruto groaned slightly and tilted his head in Sasuke's direction; he weakly raised a hand to Sasuke's cheek and wiped his tears away.

"Don't cry 'Suke, I'm fine now." He rasped out and coughed harshly. Jaraiya handed him a cup of water and he took it thankfully. Tsunade checked his insides with her chakra enforced hands and sighed in relief.

"You are fine but you need plenty of rest and chakra tablets." She ordered just as Lee, Neji and Shino burst in carrying the limp forms of Kakashi, Gaara and Iruka. Sakura and Ino ran in next quickly followed by Hinata. They all heaved a sigh of relief when they caught sight of the breathing Naruto but hurried over with their charges. Neji put Gaara down carefully and he whimpered painfully as his horribly burnt skin came into contact with the rough mattress.

"I don't know if Gaara will last much longer." Neji muttered pathetically, tears in his eyes. Tsunade looked him over quickly and sat back in surprise.

"I-I can't heal this. The damage is too much and has been that way too long. I d-don't know what to do." She whimpered. Naruto gasped in air quickly and sat up with a yelp of pain. Sasuke immediately tried to push his down.

"No Sasuke, please let me do this, without his help I may not be alive." Naruto whispered and Sasuke agreed half-heartedly. Naruto gasped in shock when he took in Gaara's weeping burns; he could feel the heat from where he was sitting. Naruto sat in concentration and focussed his chakra to his hands, he looked down in disappointment when nothing happened; he had almost no chakra to give. Tears of frustration trickled down his cheeks and dripped onto Gaara's charred form. Naruto watched in amazement as the tears changed into a golden colour and the spots where they had landed healed into clean pale skin. Tsunade gasped sharply and looked at Naruto in shock.

"Impossible." She muttered. Naruto braced himself and thought of every dreadful thing that had happened to him in his life.

*

"_Hey mummy, look at that kid he has kitty whiskers." Naruto heard a little boy shout. The mother turned to him._

"_Don't you dare go near him, he's a monster." She said sharply and spat in Naruto's direction._

_*_

"_I didn't know Suna let demons into our wonderful town." An old man sneered down at Naruto._

_*_

"_Ow." A man muttered when he ran into Naruto and dropped his groceries. "Hey kid sorry about that, I-" He suddenly stopped when he glanced at Naruto. "I'm so sorry please don't hurt me." He pleaded and began to back away quickly. Naruto tilted his head and offered the man his groceries that he had picked up. The man shook his head frantically "No you keep them please, I'm sorry." He pleaded; terrified and quickly ran away without a second glance._

_*_

"_Naruto get your arse in here." His father screamed and Naruto quickly ran to the lounge room. "What's this I hear about you getting into fights? Hmm and what about you stealing from the general store?" he asked sternly. Naruto shivered._

"_I wasn't the one who started the fights at school daddy and Mr Myagi is lying!" he protested weakly. His father growled at him._

"_You're the liar!" he screamed and raised his hand high into the air "And I didn't bring up a liar." He yelled and swung it down onto Naruto's skin harshly. _

_*_

"_Abomination."_

"_Monster." _

"_Demon."_

"_Freak."_

"_Fox." The matron yelled at him and proceeded to give him a beating he'd never forget._

_*_

_Naruto shivered terribly and looked at his blue skin in wonder. Suddenly the door opened and a matron ushered him out of the freezer quickly._

"_And let that be a lesson to ya." She sneered._

_*_

"_Hey look at that freak; he has his hair over his face like a girl." A bully whispered to his friends. "Let's go beat him up." He suggested and the boys advanced on Naruto quickly. His cries for help went unheard._

_*_

"_Don't you dare threaten me you filthy child! Get out of this house now!" He yelled, raising his hand._

_Naruto stared in fear and stumbled blindly out of the room. He opened the back door and ran outside; racing as hard and fast as he could._

_*_

Naruto's face contorted in sadness and tears cascaded down his cheeks. He quickly smothered them over his hands which began to glow a bright gold. He quickly swept his hands over Gaara's body like he had seen Ino do and the skin healed almost immediately. The tears continuing to fall from his eyes spread the process up quickly and Gaara was fully healed in mere moments. Naruto sighed heavily and dragged his body over to Kakashi and Iruka wearily. He panted heavily and quickly healed both Iruka and Kakashi before falling into a dead faint on the floor.

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Two days past painfully slow for Sasuke and he waited impatiently for Naruto to wake up and grace him with that impossibly blue stare. Iruka walked into the room and handed Sasuke some breakfast.

"Still asleep?" he stated rather then asked and Sasuke nodded wearily.

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Naruto opened his eyes slowly and shifted in his bed. He sat up slowly and went to rub at his eyes when he noticed that his right hand was anchored down by something. He tilted his head cutely and looked down to see Sasuke holding desperately onto his hand; sleeping. Naruto smiled gently and used his left hand to sweep the hair from his face. Sasuke shifted slightly.

"Naruto." He mumbled and blearily opened his eyes; they widened impossibly and he shot up and grabbed Naruto's face. "Oh Naruto you're awake!" he shouted gleefully then frowned "Are you okay? Does anything hurt? Should I go call for Tsunade?" he questioned and went to stand up. He yelped when he was pulled down sharply. Naruto chuckled and straddled Sasuke without warning.

"Oh "Suke I feel just fine." He whispered and dipped his head low to claim Sasuke's for a kiss. Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and moaned at the familiar feeling. He swept his tongue over Naruto's lips and was instantly rewarded with access. Naruto melted in his arms and let Sasuke's tongue reclaim his mouth possessively.

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**~ZE END~ **

**lol don't worry i wouldn't do that to you guys~ The next chapter might take a little longer for me to write as i have two assignments to write and a baby to look after (no she's not mine) not to mention i've never tried to write a Lemon before. So be patient and please review my lovelies~**

**Hotaru~**

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	15. Chapter 14

**Hello! Please forgive me for taking so long. Over the last couple of weeks I've been sick, had to do lots of work for school and a close cousin of mine passed away so I apologize, I just didn't have the motivation. I hope I'll still be accepted into the ****IDNHTFTSODC**** club though. **

**Also for those who wanted to see ****Susurinaki's**** fanart the links are: http : / / i344 . photobucket . com / albums / p337 / Gummy_Fish_and_Me / FoxFire-Naruto . jpg and http : / / i344 . photobucket . com / albums / p337 / Gummy_Fish_and_Me / FoxFire-NarutoMakeover . jpg You know the rules, just take away all spaces. If they don't work, tell me.**

**Okay, I'm really, **_**really**_** nervous since this is the first Lemon I've ever written and I wasn't sure on the terminology to use so hopefully I did okay. This continues exactly from the last chapter peoples~**

**WARNING: This Chapter contains LEMONS!! That means !Sex! so if you don't want to read them you can skim through and read the last paragraph. Naruto might be OOC but he has a reason for it ; )**

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**~Chapter Fourteen~**

"_Oh 'Suke I feel just fine." He whispered and dipped his head low to claim Sasuke's for a kiss. Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and moaned at the familiar feeling. He swept his tongue over Naruto's lips and was instantly rewarded with access. Naruto melted in his arms and let Sasuke's tongue reclaim his mouth possessively._

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Naruto felt strange, he wasn't tired, completely the opposite, he felt energized and completely well…horny. Sasuke gasped and pulled away when Naruto's hands wandered down his chest and rubbed against his member. Naruto growled when he felt Sasuke stir and pressed closer to the body beneath him, eliciting another gasp from Sasuke. Naruto grinned coyly and trailed kisses down Sasuke's neck. His lips found Sasuke's again and they shared another passionate kiss before Naruto trailed his hands up Sasuke's thighs to the waistband of his jeans. With a single tug they were gone.

"Naruto what are you doing?" Sasuke asked, finally coming back to reality. Naruto winked at him and continued to pull Sasuke's jeans from his ankles. Sasuke tried to sit up but was pushed back down by Naruto. He hovered over Sasuke for a second before connecting their lips together; he pulled away so their lips were a centimetre apart and whispered against Sasuke's lips.

"Calm Sas', let me thank you for staying by my side." Naruto whispered. He frowned inwardly, where was all this coming from? He shrugged and going with his instincts, trailed his hands teasingly down Sasuke's sides. Sasuke arched into the simple touch and moaned when his boxers brushed against his straining erection. Naruto pushed Sasuke's shirt up and marvelled over the smooth expanse of the chest revealed to him. He ran his hands over Sasuke's chest and paused to tease Sasuke's nipples when he felt them harden beneath his touch. Sasuke moaned softly and Naruto grinned, he leant down and trailed small butterfly kisses down Sasuke's chest, swirled his tongue around Sasuke's bellybutton and finally caught the waistband of Sasuke's boxers between his teeth. Sasuke looked down and watched as Naruto slowly and teasingly began to pull down his boxers using his teeth and Sasuke's breath hitched. He began to pant in apprehension of what was to happen when cool air was blown across his member as it was finally released from its restraints.

Naruto eyed the pulsing member in front of him before leaning closer and tentatively licking a long strip from shaft to tip. Sasuke moaned loudly and clenched his eyes shut in pleasure as Naruto blew cool air over the wet strip. Sasuke shuddered and gasped when he was encased in sudden wet heat. Naruto teased the erection with his tongue before encircling the shaft with his hand. He began to bob his head up and down in time with his pumps and Sasuke arched into the wet heat. Naruto relaxed his throat muscles completely and allowed Sasuke to sink deeper, he hummed happily and Sasuke saw stars. Naruto grinned around Sasuke and began to continually purr while pumping hard and alternating between nips, sucks and licks. Sasuke clenched his hands in the bed sheets and let loose a string of curses as he came into Naruto's wet mouth. Naruto took it all in stride and swallowed the salty fluid quickly. He climbed his way up Sasuke's body, pulling the boxers back in place on his way up and bestowed him with another kiss. Sasuke moaned in appreciation and asked for entrance to Naruto's mouth with a swipe of his tongue. Naruto granted him access and moaned when Sasuke's tongue began to roam his gums and the roof of his mouth.

Their tongues met in a passionate dance for dominance and Sasuke took the chance to roll over so he was on top of Naruto. As much as he'd loved what Naruto had done, he felt better when he was in control. Naruto hummed happily and locked his arms around Sasuke's neck. He wasn't satisfied though, as fun as that was Naruto needed…more. As soon as that thought crossed his mind he began to feel an uncomfortable heat and itch in his nether regions. _I need Sasuke and I want him now_ he thought. Sasuke pulled back from the kiss and noticed that Naruto's face was flushed and he had a strange glint in his eyes.

"What was all that Naruto?" Sasuke asked. Naruto shook his head and blushed furiously.

"I'm sorry Sasuke; I don't know what came over me." He whispered and blushed deeper. "Was it okay?" he asked quietly and Sasuke smirked.

"It was mind blowing. I can't wait to return the favour." He said teasingly and Naruto hid his face in Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke chuckled and moved down to kiss Naruto on the forehead. Naruto smiled up at him, his beautiful blue eyes crinkling up minutely and the dusting of pink bringing out their unique shade. Sasuke was stunned by his mates beauty and was about to steal another kiss when the door was slammed open with a loud bang. Naruto squeaked loudly and shoved Sasuke off of him. Sasuke tumbled to the ground and landed with a loud thump. He growled and glared up at the intruder, the person in question blinked his one grey eye lazily and Sasuke could make out the disappointed look even behind the mask.

"Maa, I missed it." Kakashi said in disappointment. There was another loud crash and suddenly Jaraiya bounced through the door holding up a notebook. His giant grin fell when he saw Naruto huddled up on the bed and Sasuke on the floor with an angry expression on his face.

"I missed it? Dammit Kakashi, why didn't you notice the smell earlier?" he questioned angrily and Kakashi shrugged. Suddenly the door was slammed off its hinges and Iruka stood in the doorway with a furious expression on his face and nostrils flaring. He regarded the two men with disgust and slapped the two over the head.

"Get out before I get really angry!" he shouted at the two and they both bolted with their tails between their legs. Iruka glared after them before turning to Naruto with a relieved smile on his face. "Oh Naruto you're awake!" he cried and latched onto Naruto who was seated on the bed. Naruto giggled happily and returned the hug heartedly. Suddenly Iruka gasped and held Naruto by his shoulders. Naruto recognised the expression on his face and looked over at Sasuke.

"Um 'Suke do you mind if I talk to Iruka alone?" he questioned but Sasuke seemed rather hesitant. Naruto sighed in exasperation "You can stay in the room, just far enough away so you can't hear." He continued. Sasuke nodded and pulled on his jeans, Iruka raised an eyebrow and looked at Naruto who blushed. Sasuke buttoned his jeans and began to try and fix the door. Iruka gave Naruto a sly look.

"You guys were intimate weren't you?" he questioned gleefully and Naruto blushed.

"We didn't go all the way but…" he trailed off and Iruka nodded.

"Do you feel hot and itchy all over?" he asked suddenly and Naruto nodded slowly. "Naru do you feel like you need to be…filled? That you and Sasuke need to be as close as possible? That you need more?" Iruka asked carefully. Naruto blushed deeper with each question and nodded shyly. Iruka chuckled and hugged Naruto happily. Sasuke looked over with a smile and left the room, trusting that Iruka would protect Naruto.

"Time to take care of a couple of perverts." He muttered to himself with a smirk while cracking his knuckles. Iruka released Naruto from his death grip and smiled down at him cheerfully.

"Naruto." He began "You're in heat." He said happily and Naruto covered his mouth with a gasp. Iruka laughed and hugged him tightly again. "Don't worry about it Naru, when the time comes and trust me it will be soon, very soon, you will know what to do." He murmured encouragingly "Take it from me, I've been through this as well, all you need to do is trust your instincts." He said happily and Naruto nodded his head in understanding. "And don't worry I'll make sure those two pesky perverts don't interrupt." He said with a wink and a smile and Naruto started to laugh.

"Thank you Iruka, I'm glad I can always count on you." Naruto said with a giggle and Iruka nodded.

"Now come downstairs, everyone will want to see you and Tsunade will probably want to talk to you about some things." Iruka said and Naruto nodded. They both got up from the bed; Naruto smoothing his clothes and hair and left the room. "Sasuke's pretty handy." Iruka said as they passed the fixed door and Naruto smiled. When they reached the dining room a cheer went up as Naruto entered the room. Lee, Sakura and Ino quickly left through a doorway and Naruto walked past Neji and Gaara who were sharing an intimate conversation. They both looked up and Naruto noticed their joined hands _So Gaara found a mate_ he thought happily. Neji nodded in greeting at him and Gaara stood to give Naruto a hug.

"It's good to see you up Naruto and thank you for healing me." Gaara said quietly in Naruto's ear and Naruto chuckled.

"No problem Gaara. I'm just glad that it worked." He whispered back and released him. Shino looked up from where he was playing chess with a badly beaten Jaraiya and also nodded his greeting. Naruto smiled back and looked over Jaraiya's injuries with approval. Naruto looked over to the couch and smiled at the sight of Kiba and Hinata snuggled up together. They both grinned at him and Kiba leapt up to give Naruto a lasting hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay Naru." Kiba whispered and Naruto hugged him tighter. Kiba let go and tried to hide the tears in his eyes with a wide grin and gave Naruto a noogie. Naruto growled and made a swipe at him but Kiba was already back beside Hinata. Just then Kakashi limped in through a door followed by Sasuke who was dusting his hands. Naruto collapsed onto the large couch and was soon joined by the almost crippled Kakashi and his sometimes over protective mate. He scooted closer to Sasuke and snuggled into the warm chest offered to him with a sigh. Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto and kissed the top of his head lightly. Suddenly the doors burst open and Lee, Sakura and Ino marched in carrying a large white chocolate cake. They cleared a space in front of Naruto and grinned happily at him.

"Welcome back Naruto!" They shouted in unison and Naruto hugged them all. After everyone had tucked into the cake Tsunade entered the room and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She glanced around the room and frowned.

"If you're having a party, where's the booze?" she whined and collapsed onto one of the many couches. "Oh yeah, welcome back Naruto." She said with a tired smile. Naruto leaned forward worriedly.

"What's wrong Grandma Tsunade?" he asked. Tsunade smiled at him.

"I have been up all night trying to find out what happened that evening when we got you back." She said with a shrug. "I found out a few things, but what I want to know is how you did it Naruto. Gaara was damaged beyond repair, another minute or so and he was a goner. Kakashi had seventeen broken bones and thirteen fractures not to mention that at least five of them were hair line fractures. And Iruka was suffering from severe dehydration and numerous cuts, burns and abrasions. You healed them within seconds. How did you do it?" she asked imploringly. Naruto gulped and began to play with his hands when he felt all eyes on him.

"I just remember wanting to help them _so _badly, I mean they had all done so much for me and I wanted to help them away from their pain. When my first tear dropped on Gaara I was so amazed by what it could do. I thought of every bad thing that had happened to me and the tears kept on coming." Naruto whispered. "The truth is Tsunade, I don't know how I did it." He finished pathetically. Tsunade nodded and rubbed her temples.

"You know most healers potions are made from angel tears right?" she questioned and Naruto frowned.

"I do now." He said and Tsunade smiled.

"Well pure angel tears have an amazing healing power. If you were pure angel I would get it. But you're not, you're only half. I just don't get it." She said in a defeated tone. "And to repair all that was damaged, it was just amazing. Like a miracle." She whispered. She glanced at Gaara, Kakashi and Iruka and smiled. "Naruto gave you all an amazing gift though; the results came back on your blood work and it seems as though your bodies have soaked in Naruto's tears. Your healing rate is now twice as fast as before." She said and the three men gaped. They all glanced at Naruto who blushed at the scrutiny. Tsunade screwed up her face in thought. "I think it's the fact that you really wanted to help them that did it Naruto. There's no other explanation." She said. Jaraiya looked up from his loosing battle in chess.

"Tsunade, stop worrying about it old girl. It was a miracle. Just leave it at that." He said with cheer and Tsunade scowled.

"Fine, I'll leave it but if you ever call me old girl again I will beat you to hell and back." She said threateningly and Jaraiya grinned. Naruto's gentle smile fell as he began to squirm in his seat. He felt extremely itchy in a place that couldn't be scratched and edged closer to Sasuke. The males in the room looked up in confusion when the most delicious scent wafted into the air and all focussed their attention on Naruto. Naruto hissed at them and wrapped himself around Sasuke intimately. Knowing smiles spread across their faces and they all looked away politely when Sasuke lost his control and started to suck on Naruto's neck. Kiba gaped at the two and Iruka covered Kiba's eyes quickly.

"Sasuke, I think you and Naruto should go upstairs now." He chuckled and Sasuke didn't need to think twice before he picked Naruto up bridle style and swept from the room agilely.

As they both stepped foot into Sasuke's bedroom Sasuke released Naruto and made sure that the door was locked tightly. He turned around and was once again hit by the smell that was Naruto. Sasuke tried desperately to control himself but he had waited too long and without further warning he pounced. Naruto giggled as he was thrown down against the bed and gasped when Sasuke immediately latched onto his neck. Naruto moaned and trailed his hands up Sasuke's back, enjoying the feeling of the rippling muscles under his fingertips. Sasuke pulled away from the bright red mark he created and regarded it proudly. Naruto tangled his hands in Sasuke's hair and directed the boy to meet his lips. Their lips massaged against each other until Sasuke pressed closer and cupping Naruto's scarred cheek, pushed his tongue through Naruto's lips and enticed Naruto's tongue to join him.

When the need for air became too great Sasuke pulled away and Naruto followed him, nuzzling into his neck before nibbling and suckling on his ear. Sasuke panted loudly and the sensations on his ear went straight to his groin. Naruto paused in what he was doing and felt the overwhelming need to test Sasuke. With that thought he slipped out from under Sasuke and ran over to the couch. Sasuke whirled around angrily and growled. Naruto giggled and began to walk away from Sasuke, swaying his hips enticingly as he walked. Sasuke gaze narrowed in onto the narrow hips and he strode towards Naruto quickly. He was about to grab Naruto when he started to run. With an angry growl Sasuke gave chase. He ran after Naruto who jumped over the bed and watched him warily. Sasuke sized up the jump and waited until Naruto lost concentration. There, Naruto had looked away for a split second, Sasuke pounced but Naruto moved out of the way and ran to hide behind the couch. Sasuke growled angrily and suddenly he was running on his hands and feet. He chased Naruto around his room countless times, Naruto with a giant grin and Sasuke with a pleased smirk. Naruto leapt behind the couch once again and poked his little head up to peek wearily around the room. Sasuke ducked out of his view and carefully stalked up to his hiding mate. He measured the distance carefully and waited for Naruto to look in the other direction. With a low growl he pounced and tackled Naruto to the ground, causing the couch to topple over loudly. Naruto giggled from beneath him and nuzzled into his neck lovingly. He felt something click into place and accepted it when Sasuke growled again and picked Naruto up.

Sasuke carried Naruto back over to the large bed and placed him on it so Naruto was on his hands and knees. Naruto looked over his shoulder and tilted his hand to the side in question. Sasuke kept silent and crawled onto the bed also. He pressed his entire body up close to Naruto's and without warning bit into the back of Naruto's neck, not hard enough to break the skin but enough to stop him from moving and convey his seriousness. Naruto's first instinct was to throw Sasuke off and scratch him in the eyes but after contemplating for a few more seconds he relaxed and pushed back against Sasuke in acceptance. Sasuke purred happily and flipped Naruto over. Within seconds their clothes were gone and his blonde beauty was lying before Sasuke, completely exposed. Naruto shifted shyly and Sasuke leant down to kiss him on the nose reassuringly. Naruto smiled and spread his legs invitingly. Sasuke crept forward until he was placed between those delicious legs and his gaze was drawn down to his mate's entrance which glistened wetly in the low light, fully lubricated. Sasuke sniffed tentatively and was hit by the full force of his mate's heat. He whined loudly and positioned himself before Naruto's entrance carefully and with a nod from Naruto, slid in.

Naruto's muscles clenched and unclenched around Sasuke as his body quickly adjusted to the welcomed intrusion. Sasuke's arms began to shake as the sensation almost caused him to loose control. All he could smell was Naruto's delicious scent which now had the added zest of citrus; he looked away from Naruto's face and watched in avid wonder as Naruto's swirly seal began to glow into existence. Something deep inside Sasuke welled and roared and with a soft growl Sasuke's demon ears and tail emerged. His dark tail swished in anticipation and his ears twitched impatiently. He was waiting for something and he didn't know what it was. Naruto smiled up at his mate and arched his back with a growl when a bolt of electricity rolled down his spine and his fox tail emerged. With a shake of his head Naruto's small orange fox ears revealed themselves from his hair. Naruto tilted his head to the side and blinked up at Sasuke who smiled at the cuteness of his mate. He was surprised when Naruto backed away until Sasuke was only just inside of him. Sasuke growled at the unwanted disconnection but stopped when he felt Naruto's tail creeping up his body. It brushed his legs softly and trailed up his back, pausing to give Sasuke's tail a playful tug. Naruto's tail then wrapped around Sasuke's waist and pulled him with great force towards Naruto. The action caused Sasuke to thrust deeply inside of Naruto. Naruto whined softly and Sasuke growled deeply. Naruto shifted and began to whine needily and Sasuke knew that this was what he was waiting for.

He slowly slid out and slammed back in, causing Naruto's back to arch and the bed to slam against the wall loudly. He angled instinctually with his next thrust causing Naruto to howl in pleasure and clench around Sasuke tightly. Sasuke hissed, pulled back out and set up a quick and even pace, still angled at Naruto's sweet spot. Sasuke's nails elongated and sharpened into claws, ripping the sheet he was clenching so tightly. He gasped when Naruto's claws dug into his back and scratched a long bloody trail but the immense pleasure he was experiencing quickly overrode the pain. Sasuke smirked down at Naruto and decided to pay him back. He leant down and licked a long strip up Naruto's neck. He blew cool air across the strip, causing Naruto to shiver pleasantly. Without warning Sasuke bit into Naruto's neck, his sharpened canines digging into the sensitive flesh. Naruto yelped loudly but was soon purring with Sasuke's next thrust. As they both came closer to the edge Naruto's tail left from where it was entwined with Sasuke's and wound around Sasuke's waist again and pulled him closer. Sasuke's arms began to shake with excursion as he grew closer and closer to the edge.

"Sasuke." Naruto gasped out before he came against his and Sasuke's chests. Sasuke soon followed him with an animalistic growl and a choked form of Naruto's name as Naruto's walls milked him hungrily. Not wanting to collapse on his now official mate Sasuke began to pull out but was stopped when Naruto growled warningly and pulled him back with his tail. Sasuke smirked and arranged himself so that he was behind his mated, holding him protectively and still encased deep within him. Naruto brought one of Sasuke's hands up and kissed it softly. "I love you Sasuke." He whispered sleepily and wrapped his long golden tail around them both. Sasuke sighed happily and whispered into Naruto's neck.

"And I love you Naruto." Naruto grinned before falling asleep, comforted by the fact that his mate was holding him in a protective manner. Sasuke reached up and stroked one of Naruto's silky orange ears. It flicked lazily and Sasuke smiled before tightening his grip on Naruto and letting the dark blanket of sleep overpower him.

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Kakashi pressed against the barrier again, looking for a weak point while Jaraiya just pounded on it relentlessly.

"Why?!" Jaraiya whined, his pen and pad discarded to his left. "Why cruel fate have you done this?!" he cried in anguish. Kakashi pressed his back to the barrier and slid down it in defeat.

"We can't even hear them." He said unhappily. Jaraiya joined him on the ground.

"Sasuke's definitely Seme right?" he questioned and Kakashi nodded.

"No doubt about it-" he said but was interrupted when he heard a faint scream of pleasure. Kakashi turned back to Jaraiya quickly. "You hear that?" he asked and in a flash the two were both up and pounding on the barrier desperately. "I just want to take pictures!" Kakashi whined loudly.

"I just want some inspiration for my next novel." Jaraiya pleaded. They both continued to bash at the magical barrier placed at the bottom of the stairs to Sasuke's bedroom as Iruka and Hinata watched on proudly.

"And that takes care of the pesky pervert problem." Iruka said, dusting his hands and smiling at Hinata, she smiled back and increased the power of the barrier.

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Sasuke wearily opened his eyes when he felt something warm and wet trailing up his chest. He blinked his dark eyes to clear his vision and looked on as his mate continued to clean his chest with his tongue. Naruto was straddling Sasuke's waist, the both of them still naked as the day they were born. Sasuke smiled at Naruto who finally looked up from his concentrated work and reached up to caress Naruto's fox ears. Naruto purred loudly and flicked his tail behind him in pleasure. He'd woken up to find them in the exact position as they'd fallen asleep in last night; Sasuke with his arms wrapped around Naruto protectively, still encased inside him. Naruto had pulled away and looked on in horror at the mess his mate was in. Instincts blaring, he had straddled Sasuke and begun to clean the still sleeping boy with his tongue. Naruto purred at him happily and began to lap at his neck, causing Sasuke to moan and something downstairs to stir. Naruto stiffened slightly when he felt something hard brush against his bottom but instantly grew hard when the memories of last night and his heat came wafting back. Without any warning whatsoever and without breaking eye contact Naruto rose up and impaled himself onto Sasuke in one swift motion.

They both cried out in unison and Sasuke stifled a moan as Naruto's muscles once again clenched around him. Once the boy had adjusted he used his hands on Sasuke's chest as leverage and rose up before slamming back down, rocking his hips slightly. Sasuke growled and threw his head back, back arching as he grabbed Naruto's hips. Every rise of Naruto's body tempted his climax closer, every thrust downwards making the heat pool into his stomach faster. With a fierce growl Sasuke flipped Naruto without breaking contact and began to thrust deeply. Naruto whined when Sasuke hit his prostate head on. Sasuke continued to thrust, his climax coming ever closer when he caught the playful look on his mates face. Without warning Naruto clenched down hard and pushed Sasuke with all his strength, using the momentum of the push and the balance of his tail Naruto followed Sasuke and once again landed on top of him. Sasuke growled but watched in fascination as Naruto's tail began to dance behind him and the blonde haired boy rocked his hips enticingly. Sasuke's eyes rolled into the back of his head with pleasure when Naruto leant down and nuzzled into his demon mark. Naruto noticed and continuing to rock his hips as he bit, nibbled and licked Sasuke's mark. Sasuke reached unknowingly towards Naruto's seal and with one stroke Naruto gasped, coming hard against his chest. Naruto clenched down hard and sucked on Sasuke's mark as he rose upwards. The heat in Sasuke's stomach skyrocketed and he came inside Naruto, seeing stars and cute little chibi foxes. Panting, Naruto lifted himself off of Sasuke and collapsed beside him. Sasuke's arms encircled him and they both fell into an exhaustion induced sleep.

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One blue eye opened lazily and blinked before the other followed. Two dark eyes stared back at him and Naruto blushed under the intense scrutiny. Suddenly a loud rumbling filled the room and Naruto sat up in shock, with an embarrassed look he held his stomach and blushed harder. Sasuke smirked and kissed his little fox on the nose before standing and stretching. Naruto looked away from his naked mate with a blush.

"Are you hungry Naruto?" Sasuke teased. Naruto smiled and nodded his head. Sasuke smirked and after stealing a small kiss headed off to have a shower. Naruto giggled uncontrollably and hugged himself. He felt so happy and complete. He arched his back and stretched on the messy sheets; much like a cat would and without much thought began to lick himself clean. When the bathroom door opened, steam poured from the opening and Sasuke emerged. He was only in a towel and the water dripping from his hair caught Naruto's eye, he followed it down Sasuke's chest, waist and watched in hungry disappointment as it disappeared beneath the fluffy white towel. Sasuke glanced over at his naked mate and felt his heart jerk in place.

Sasuke scanned his mates golden body and fully took in the long hairless legs, the girlishly curved hips, the toned stomach and chest, the inviting neck, the soft scarred cheeks and the beautiful blue eyes. Naruto was truly beautiful. He was sitting in the middle of Sasuke's giant bed, the dark colour of the messy sheets surrounding him making his skin glow and his eyes stand out. The blonde was sitting calmly, completely comfortable with the fact that he was naked. His red tail swished lazily behind him as he sat frozen in place with a finger still in his mouth. His ears flicked pleasantly as Sasuke looked at the erotic sight. He watched as Naruto's eyes trailed down his chest, the finger slipping free of those deliciously pink lips. Lust shimmered in their eyes as they locked gazes and Sasuke began to unconsciously walk towards Naruto who was slowly crawling forwards on his hands and knees, tail flaring behind him. The moment was broken when a loud growling filled the room and Naruto sat back in embarrassment. Sasuke shook his head and chuckled; he leant forwards and captured Naruto's lips in a chaste kiss. He pulled away and walked into his large walk in closet, throwing on the first pair of pants and shirt he could find. Sasuke walked back out and looked over to Naruto who was now lying on his stomach with his head resting on his crossed arms. Naruto smiled softly at Sasuke.

"I don't want anything specific, just hurry back." Naruto urged, lust clouding his eyes again. Sasuke crossed the room and pulled Naruto into another kiss before leaving the room, locking the door behind him. Naruto smiled and got up from the bed; he followed Sasuke's scent into the closet and trailed his hands along the clothes hanging from the walls. Suddenly his foot connected with a cardboard box and with a yelp Naruto dropped to the ground. He tilted his head at the box and pulled it towards himself. Naruto opened the lid and was surprised to see black and white lace. He reached into the box and pulled out the offending item, a small smirk spreading across his face.

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Sasuke entered the room with a tray of assorted food. He glanced at the bed triumphantly but was surprised to find it empty. With a narrowed gaze he looked around the room, the tray crashing to the floor when he finally found the figure of his little blonde fox. Naruto smirked and twirled around seductively, letting Sasuke see everything. Sasuke bit his lip to hold back a moan at the erotic site before him.

"Do you like it?" Naruto asked with a forced blush, an innocent look plastered over his face. Sasuke gaped as he took in the sight of his mate in a deliciously tight maids outfit. Its white sleeves puffed out cutely and the laced up bodice clung to Naruto's body invitingly. The short black skirt fell to just bellow his bottom, giving Sasuke a nice view of his shapely legs and his silky red tail trailed onto the ground. Naruto blushed for real when Sasuke approached with a predatory smirk. With a yip Naruto was lifted into the air and placed on the bed. The erotic maids outfit didn't last long as Sasuke quickly removed it, careful not to rip anything as well as his clothes.

When they were both naked Naruto spread his legs and Sasuke slid in without resistance. When he was finally completely encased in the tight heat, breathing harshly he waited for Naruto to adjust. Within seconds Naruto thrust his hips against Sasuke in a silent urge for him to move. Sasuke kissed Naruto on the stomach before pulling out almost all the way and slamming back in, hitting his mate's prostate dead on. Naruto moaned loudly as Sasuke continued thrusting, hitting his prostate with every thrust. Suddenly Sasuke's hand moved from Naruto's hips and began to rub and knead Naruto's seal. Naruto tossed his head side to side as pleasure overrode his senses, heat pooling in his stomach. It didn't take long before they were both brought to the edge and Naruto closed his eyes and came, spilling onto his stomach and Sasuke's hand as he cried out. Sasuke watched his mate's pleasure filled face and with a final thrust he came hard, spilling his seed into the blond and crying out a pleasure induced version of Naruto's name. Sasuke pulled out of his blonde mate and collapsed beside him. Naruto turned to him and nuzzled into his neck before sighing contently and using his tail to pull the blanket up to cover them. Naruto shifted until his back was pressed flush against Sasuke's chest and purred when Sasuke wrapped his arms around him lovingly. Sasuke's tail came around and draped itself over Naruto's waist and Naruto's tail wrapped itself around one of Sasuke's legs. With a contented sigh Naruto snuggled into Sasuke.

"Love you." He mumbled and within seconds his breathing had deepened and he was fast asleep.

"And I you." Sasuke replied. He lay there for a few more minutes, completely content in watching his mate sleep, when his eyes began to grow heavy. He tightened his grip on Naruto and nuzzled into the boys citrus smelling hair, sighing deeply. He began to breathe in time with Naruto as he thought about the last few hectic weeks. Sasuke had chosen a mate, gained his trust, comforted him when he went through tough times and had found out about his past. Sasuke had experienced the overwhelming feeling of jealousy, had almost lost him to another and shared his inner most secrets with him. He had witnessed his mate's beauty and maturity, felt the sickening feeling of loss when he was taken and the euphoric elation when he was recovered. Sasuke had finally finished his courting process but most importantly Sasuke had fallen in love. He knew that finding someone's true mate was usually extremely hard to do; the majority of the time someone's true mated was on the other side of the world and they would never meet. Sasuke unconsciously pulled Naruto closer at the thought of never meeting him. As his eyelids grew too heavy he breathed in one last smell of Naruto's alluring scent and welcomed the darkness as sleep fell over him. All in all, Sasuke Uchiha was thankful for the day that Naruto Uzumaki fell from the heavens.

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_**~ End ~**_

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**Wow, that had to be the corniest line ever…I'm still really sorry for the lateness, I kinda put it off because I was so nervous…but it's over!!! I'm sorry to anyone who is disappointed or anything, I just ran out of ideas and decided to end it. Review my lovelies~ Please don't flame me; I usually take things to heart. If anyone has any questions or anything, feel free to email me. I thank each and every single one of you who reviewed and helped me out with this story!!! Thank you!**

**Until next time,**

**Hotaru~**


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